Fused Deposition Modeling of Chemically Resistant Microfluidic Chips in Polyvinylidene Fluoride

Area of Science:

• Materials Science
• Chemical Engineering
• Microfluidics

Background:

• Fused deposition modeling (FDM) is a cost-effective prototyping method for microfluidics.
• Commercial FDM materials often lack the necessary chemical and thermal stability for demanding applications like on-chip synthesis.
• This limits the use of FDM in advanced microfluidic research and development.

Purpose of the Study:

• To present the FDM fabrication of microfluidic chips using polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF).
• To demonstrate the suitability of PVDF for applications requiring high thermal and chemical resistance.
• To explore the potential of FDM-printed PVDF microfluidic devices for chemical synthesis.

Main Methods:

• Fabrication of microfluidic chips with embedded microchannels (~200 µm x 200 µm) using FDM with PVDF.
• Analysis of PVDF's resistance to common solvents.
• Development of a printing-on-glass technique to enhance optical transparency.
• Fabrication and testing of fluid mixing chips and microreactors.

Main Results:

• Successful FDM fabrication of microfluidic chips using PVDF with embedded microchannels.
• PVDF demonstrated good resistance against common solvents.
• A method was developed to produce translucent PVDF components by printing on glass.
• FDM-printed PVDF microreactors achieved >99% conversion in acetal deprotection reactions.

Conclusions:

• FDM printing with PVDF offers a viable route for fabricating microfluidic devices with enhanced thermal and chemical resistance.
• This approach expands the applicability of FDM in microfluidic research, particularly for on-chip chemical synthesis.
• The use of fluorinated polymers like PVDF in FDM printing facilitates lab-scale execution of previously challenging microfluidic applications.