In this paper, we report the development of tailored 3D-structured (engineered) polymer-metal interfaces to create enhanced ‘engineered ionic polymer metal composite’ (eIPMC) sensors towards soft, self-powered, high sensitivity strain sensor applications. We introduce a novel advanced additive manufacturing approach to tailor the morphology of the polymer-electrode interfaces via inkjet-printed polymer microscale features. We hypothesize that these features can promote inhomogeneous strain within the material upon the application of external pressure, responsible for improved compression sensing performance. We formalize a minimal physics-based chemoelectromechanical model to predict the linear sensor behavior of eIPMCs in both open-circuit and short-circuit sensing conditions. The model accounts for polymer-electrode interfacial topography to define the inhomogeneous mechanical response driving electrochemical transport in the eIPMC. Electrochemical experiments demonstrate improved electrochemical properties of the inkjet-printed eIPMCs as compared to the standard IPMC sensors fabricated from Nafion polymer sheets. Similarly, compression sensing results show a significant increase in sensing performance of inkjet-printed eIPMC. We also introduce two alternative methods of eIPMC fabrication for sub-millimeter features, namely filament-based fused-deposition manufacturing and stencil printing, and experimentally demonstrate their improved sensing performance. Our results demonstrate increasing voltage output associated to increasing applied mechanical pressure and enhanced performance of the proposed eIPMC sensors against traditional IPMC based compression sensors.
In this paper, we examine the development of tailored 3D-structured (engineered) polymer-metal interfaces to create enhanced ionic polymer-metal composite (eIPMC) sensors towards soft, self-powered, high sensitivity strain sensor applications. First, a physics-based chemoelectromechanical model is developed to predict the sensor behavior of eIPMCs by incorporating structure microfeature effects in the mechanical response of the material. The model incorporates electrode surface properties, such as microscale feature thickness, size and spacing, to help define the mechanical response and transport characteristics of the polymer-electrode interface. Second, two novel approaches are described to create functional samples of eIPMC sensors using fused deposition manufacturing and inkjet printing technologies. Sample eIPMC sensors are fabricated for experimental characterization. Finally, experimental results are provided to show superior performance in the sensing capabilities compared to traditional sensors fabricated from sheet-form material. The results also validate important predictive aspects of the proposed minimal model.
Pulsed laser ablation (PLA) under active liquid confinement, also known as chemical etching enhanced pulsed laser ablation (CE-PLA), has emerged as a novel laser processing methodology, which breaks the current major limitation in underwater PLA caused by the breakdown plasma and effectively improves the efficiencies of underwater PLA-based processes, such as laser-assisted nano-/micro-machining and laser shock processing. Despite of experimental efforts, little attention has been paid on CE-PLA process modeling. In this study, an extended two-temperature model is proposed to predict the temporal/spatial evolution of the electron-lattice temperature and the ablation rate in the CE-PLA process. The model is developed with considerations on the temperature-dependent electronic thermal properties and optical properties of the target material. The ablation rate is formulated by incorporating the mutual promotion between ablation and etching processes. The simulation results are validated by the experimental data of CE-PLA of zinc under the liquid confinement of hydrogen peroxide.
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