Digital light processing for the fabrication of 3D intrinsically conductive polymer structures

Abstract

Conventional methods to fabricate intrinsically conductive polymer actuators result in planar morphologies that limit fabricated devices to simplistic linear or bending actuation modes. In this study, we report a conductive polymer formulation and associated 3D printing fabrication method capable of realizing three-dimensional conductive polymer structures that are not subject to such geometric limitations. A light-based 3D printing technique known as digital light processing is employed due to its ability to fabricate complex microscale features in conjunction with a specially-formulated photosensitive polypyrrole resin. The performance of this fabrication system is characterized via feature resolution and depth of cure experiments, and the results are subsequently applied to the fabrication of 3D components. This technique enables the fabrication of novel electroactive polymer structures and provides a framework for advanced 3D electroactive polymer-enabled devices capable of complex modes of sensing and actuation.