Poly(vinylidene fluoride)/thermoplastic polyurethane flexible and 3D printable conductive composites

Abstract

This work focus on the development of polymeric blends to produce multifunctional materials for 3D printing with enhanced electrical and mechanical properties. In this context, flexible and highly conductive materials comprising poly(vinylidene fluoride)/thermoplastic polyurethane (PVDF/TPU) filled with carbon black‐polypyrrole (CB‐PPy) were prepared by compression molding, filament extrusion and fused filament fabrication. In order to achieve an optimal compromise between electrical conductivity, mechanical properties and printability, blends composition was optimized and different CB‐PPy content were added. Overall, the electrical conductivities of PVDF/TPU 50/50 vol% co‐continuous blend were higher than those found for PVDF/TPU 50/50 wt% (i.e., 38/62 vol%) composites at same filler content. PVDF/TPU/CB‐PPy 3D printed samples with 6.77 vol% filler fraction presented electrical conductivity of 4.14 S m−1 and elastic modulus, elongation at break and maximum tensile stress of 0.43 GPa, 10.3% and 10.0 MPa, respectively. These results highlight that PVDF/TPU/CB‐PPy composites are promising materials for technological applications.

Fabrication and characterization of piezoresistive flexible pressure sensors based on poly(vinylidene fluoride)/thermoplastic polyurethane filled with carbon black‐polypyrrole

“…31,32 Furthermore, only a few studies report on the use of polymeric blends to control properties and improve printability of composite filaments for FFF. 24,33 Our previous work focused on the development of flexible and highly conductive filaments composed of polymeric blends of poly(vinylidene fluoride) (PVDF) and TPU in order to achieve the best relationship between mechanical properties, electrical conductivity and printability. Two polymeric blends composed of PVDF/TPU were used as matrix to prepared compression molded and 3D printed composites comprising carbon black-polypyrrole (CB-PPy) as conductive filler.…”

“…The results showed that the investigated PVDF/ TPU/CB-PPy composites can be potentially used for technological applications that requires electrical conductivity. 33 In this context, the present study focuses on the use of the previous developed materials as flexible pressure sensors. Due to the good combination of flexibility, printability and electrical properties, the composites prepared in the mentioned research comprising PVDF/TPU 50/50 wt% as matrix are further characterized in this paper and their piezoresistive response are investigated to evaluate its application as piezoresistive flexible pressure sensors.…”

“…Several studies report the preparation of electromechanical sensors by FFF technique, 1,10,26,28–30 however, only a few are used as piezoresistive pressure sensor 30 and strain sensor 31,32 . Furthermore, only a few studies report on the use of polymeric blends to control properties and improve printability of composite filaments for FFF 24,33 …”

Determining the Optimal Conditions for the Production by Supercritical CO2 of Biodegradable PLGA Foams for the Controlled Release of Rutin as a Medical Treatment

“…Organic solvents can be toxic and harmful for the environment and their disposal can be rather costly. Other techniques that are also implemented, such as extrusion or compression molding [5][6][7], typically use high temperatures that can degrade some polymers. Moreover, if polymers need to be heated to get impregnated with bioactive compounds, which, in most cases, are thermolabile substances, such substances may get damaged because of the high processing temperatures [8].…”

Additively manufactured high-performance polymeric materials and their potential use in the oil and gas industry

“…Interestingly, this issue may be overcome by incorporating appropriate Zn(WO 4 ) 2 loadings to balance dimensional tolerances without sacrificing the mechanical properties. A blend of PVDF/thermoplastic polyurethane (TPU) filled with carbon black-polypyrrole (CB-PPy) filament was used by Bertolini et al [ 80 ] in fabricating a flexible and FDM printable conductive composite. The optimal printability, electrical, and mechanical properties of the resulting composites were achieved by optimizing the blend and filler compositions.…”