Multi-material fused filament fabrication of flexible 3D piezoelectric nanocomposite lattices for pressure sensing and energy harvesting applications. (December 2022)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Tao, Rui; Shi, Jiahao; Granier, Floriane; Moeini, Mohammadreza; Akbarzadeh, Abdolhamid; Therriault, Daniel
• Is Part Of: Applied materials today. Volume 29(2022)
• Publication Date: 2022-12
• Subjects: Multi-material additive manufacturing -- Fused filament fabrication -- Piezoelectric -- Nanocomposite -- Lattice structure; Materials science -- Periodicals; Materials -- Research -- Periodicals; 620.1105
• DOI: 10.1016/j.apmt.2022.101596
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 2352-9407

Abstract

Highlights: TPU/30 vol% PZT piezoelectric nanocomposites have excellent flexibility and piezoelectric performance. Octet truss piezoelectric nanocomposite lattice shows the highest voltage output under the same maximum applied force of 300 N among the four types of designed lattices. A multi-material 3D printed flexible piezoelectric nanocomposite shoe sole shows a ∼20 V voltage output by one human stomp. Abstract: Flexible three-dimensional (3D) piezoelectric sensors and energy harvesters are in great demand for wireless and low power consumption human health monitors, artificial skins and soft robots. In this work, a multi-material fused filament fabrication (FFF) 3D printing technique is used to fabricate 3D piezoelectric and flexible nanocomposite structures with integrated electrodes by utilizing a developed piezoelectric nanocomposite filament and a commercially available conductive nanocomposite filament. The developed piezoelectric nanocomposite filament consists of flexible polyurethane (TPU) matrix and 30 vol% (maximum allowable content) of piezoelectric ceramic lead zirconate titanate (PZT) nanoparticle fillers. The fabricated and poled TPU/30vol%PZT piezoelectric nanocomposite has an elongation at break strain ∼56% and a d 33 value 6.8 pC/N. Four types of 3D piezoelectric nanocomposite lattices including simple cubic, body-centered cubic, cuboctahedron and octet truss are fabricated and tested along with a fully dense solid counterepart. Under the same maximum applied compressive force, the octet truss piezoelectric nanocomposite lattice generates two times higher voltage output than the fully dense solid counterpart. As a demonstration for the potential applications, a multi-material 3D printed flexible piezoelectric nanocomposite shoe sole made of the octet truss infill pattern can generate a peak-to-peak voltage ( V pp ) ∼20 V through a typical human stomp. Our approach can open a new avenue for design and manufacturing of flexible piezoelectric devices for sensing and energy harvesting applications. Graphical abstract: Multi-material 3D printing of flexible piezoelectric nanocomposite lattices and shoe sole with integrated electrodes Image, graphical abstract