Weinan Xu1
University of Akron1
Due to the significant differences in physical and chemical properties of polymers and metals, their additive manufacturing is conducted using very different and incompatible methods or conditions. Such incompatibility is a significant limitation for multi-material 3D printing and fabrication of 3D functional composites. We address this issue by creating functional composites composed of thermoplastic elastomers, Field’s metal, and graphene; and their 3D printability by fused filament fabrication is achieved. The 3D printable composites have widely tunable internal structures, mechanical, thermal, electrical properties, and full recyclability. Multiphysics modeling was developed to predict and elucidate the structure and properties. The 3D structures can be transformed from insulating to conductive based on the melting and coalescence of Field’s metal nanoparticles. The incorporation of graphene bridges the adjacent Field’s metal particles and significantly enhances the conductivity. Such 3D-printable polymer-metal hybrid platform will enable new advancements in soft electronics and robotics, and energy storage.<br/>Ref: Bu, J., Shen, N., Qin, Z., & Xu, W. (2023). Integration of low-melting-point alloys and thermoplastic elastomers for 3D printing of multifunctional composites. Cell Reports Physical Science.