We report on the preparation and stereolithographic 3D printing of a resin based on the composite between a poly(ethylene glycol) diacrylate (PEGDA) host matrix and a poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene)-poly(styrenesulfonate) (PEDOT:PSS) filler, and the related cumulative volatile organic compounds’ (VOCs) adsorbent properties. The control of all the steps for resin preparation and printing through morphological (SEM), structural (Raman spectroscopy) and functional (I/V measurements) characterizations allowed us to obtain conductive 3D objects of complex and reproducible geometry. These systems can interact with chemical vapors in the long term by providing a consistent and detectable variation of their structural and conductive characteristics. The materials and the manufacture protocol here reported thus propose an innovative and versatile technology for VOCs monitoring systems based on cumulative adsorption effects.
Nowadays, the interest in the additive manufacturing (AM) field is not only from a technological point of view, but also from a materials perspective. The advantages of printing functional parts allowed the transition from AM intended as mere prototypes factory, to complete production process for small batches of highly customized devices. Especially for micrometric devices, the best solution in terms of material can be found in photo-sensitive polymers. This study was focused on finding the best way to make stereolithography (SL) printed conductive parts easily embeddable in an electronic circuit. A SL resin containing the electrically conductive polymer poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene) (PEDOT) was considered for its interesting property to behave like an electrochemical transistor in proper conditions. Different standard metal plating techniques were evaluated to find out the best one for the present case study. After metallization, samples were electrically characterized to find out conductivity values. Electroplating turned out to be a valid solution, generating a metal layer on the surface without damaging the printed part and enhancing the electric contact. The reported outcomes pave the way for further studies on polymeric parts welding, which often represents a bottleneck in polymeric device integration in electronic circuits.
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