Additive manufacturing (AM), otherwise known as three‐dimensional (3D) printing, is driving major innovations in many areas, such as engineering, manufacturing, art, education, and medicine. Although a considerable amount of progress has been made in this field, additional research work is required to overcome various remaining challenges. Recently, one of the actively researched areas lies in the AM of smart materials and structures. Electroactive materials incorporated in 3D printing have given birth to 4D printing, where 3D printed structures can perform as actuating and/or sensing systems, making it possible to deliver electrical signals under external mechanical stimuli and vice versa. In this paper, we present a lightweight, low cost piezoelectric material based on the dispersion of inorganic ferroelectric submicron particles in a polymer matrix. We report on how the proposed material is compatible with the AM process. Finally, we discuss its potential applications for healthcare, especially in smart implants prostheses. © 2018 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Polym. Sci., Part B: Polym. Phys. 2019, 57, 109–115
This work focuses on the development of piezoelectric sensors for the fractional flow reserve (FFR) technique, a procedure based on the measurement of blood pressure within a vessel to evaluate the severity of coronary stenosis. Considering the medical application, biocompatibility is a mandatory requirement that justifies the selection of fillers and matrix. Two composites made of lead‐free barium titanate nanoparticles (BaTiO3) incorporated in polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) elastomer are developed: the first composite with particles randomly dispersed and the second one with particles aligned along one direction, via an innovative technique known as dielectrophoresis. The experimental characterization indicates that the electroactive and dielectric properties are coherent with the models’ prediction, confirming that the alignment of the filler gives rise to considerably enhanced dielectric and piezoelectric proprieties relative to the random dispersion. Thermal stability together with X‐ray diffraction is conducted, demonstrating superior piezoelectric response of the structured sample under high‐temperature conditions. FFR application is then simulated by applying an arterial pulse‐shape stimulus on the developed sensor, which is finally integrated into a catheter and directly inserted in a simulation arm.
Electro‐active polymers (EAPs) such as P(VDF‐TrFE‐CTFE) are greatly promising in the field of flexible sensors and actuators, but their low dielectric strength driven by ionic conductivity is a main concern for achieving high electrostrictive performance. It is well known that there is a quadratic dependence of the strain response and mechanical energy density on the applied electric field. This dependence highlights the importance of improving the electrical breakdown EAPs while reducing the dielectric losses. This article demonstrates that it is possible to dramatically increase the electrical breakdown and decrease the dielectric losses by controlling processing parameters of the polymer synthesis and fabrication procedure. As a result, an enhancement of around 70% is achieved in both the strain and blocking force. The effects on the dielectric losses of the polymer crystallinity, molecular weight, solvent purity, and crystallization temperature are also investigated. © 2018 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Polym. Sci., Part B: Polym. Phys. 2018, 56, 1164–1173
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