PIEZOELECTRIC COMPOSITES FEATURING NONCOVALENT INTERACTIONS AND USE THEREOF IN ADDITIVE MANUFACTURING

• Main Authors: ZHU, Yujie, ZWARTZ, Edward G, VASILEIOU, Alexandros, PAQUET, Chantal, VELLA, Sarah J
• Format: Patent
• Language: English
• Published: 18.05.2023
• Subjects: ADDITIVE MANUFACTURING TECHNOLOGY; ADDITIVE MANUFACTURING, i.e. MANUFACTURING OFTHREE-DIMENSIONAL [3-D] OBJECTS BY ADDITIVE DEPOSITION, ADDITIVEAGGLOMERATION OR ADDITIVE LAYERING, e.g. BY 3-D PRINTING,STEREOLITHOGRAPHY OR SELECTIVE LASER SINTERING; AFTER-TREATMENT OF THE SHAPED PRODUCTS, e.g. REPAIRING; ELECTRICITY; PERFORMING OPERATIONS; SHAPING OF MATERIAL IN A PLASTIC STATE, NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDEDFOR; SHAPING OR JOINING OF PLASTICS; TRANSPORTING; WORKING OF PLASTICS; WORKING OF SUBSTANCES IN A PLASTIC STATE, IN GENERAL

Parts made by additive manufacturing are often structural in nature, rather than having functional properties conveyed by a polymer or other component. Printed parts having piezoelectric properties may be formed using compositions comprising a plurality of piezoelectric particles non-covalently interacting with at least a portion of a polymer material via π-π bonding, hydrogen bonding, electrostatic interactions stronger than van der Waals interactions, or any combination thereof. The piezoelectric particles may be dispersed in the polymer material and remain substantially non-agglomerated when combined with the polymer material. The polymer material may comprise at least one thermoplastic polymer, optionally further including a polymer precursor. The compositions may define an extrudable material that is a composite having a form factor such as a composite filament, a composite pellet, a composite powder, or a composite paste. Additive manufacturing processes using the compositions may comprise forming a printed part by depositing the compositions layer-by-layer.