Ying Diao (left), postdoctoral researcher Kyung Sun Park (seated) and graduate student Justin Kwok (right) have found that twisted polymers can be flattened via the printing process to make them better at conducting electricity. Photo: L. Brian Stauffer.Researchers have found a way to use 3D printing to stretch and flatten twisted polymers so that they conduct electricity better. The researchers, led by chemical and biomolecular engineers from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, report their findings in a paper in Science Advances.
Conjugated polymers are formed from the union of electron-rich molecules along a backbone of alternating single and double chemical bonds. This conjunction allows electricity to travel very quickly through the polymer, making it highly desirable for use in electrical and optical applications. Indeed, this mode of transporting charges works so well that conjugated polymers are now poised to compete with silicon materials, the researchers said.
However, these polymers tend to contort into twisted spirals when they form, severely impeding charge transport.
"The flatness or planarity of a conjugated polymer plays a large role in its ability to conduct electricity," said Ying Diao, a chemical and biomolecular engineering professor at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, who led the study. "Even a slight twist of the backbone can substantially hinder the ability of the electrons to delocalize and flow."
It is possible to flatten conjugated polymers by applying an enormous amount of pressure or by manipulating their molecular structure, but both techniques are very labor-intensive. "There really is no easy way to do this," said Diao.
However, while running printing experiments and flow simulations in Diao's lab, postdoctoral researcher Kyung Sun Park and graduate student Justin Kwok noticed something. Polymers go through two distinct phases of flow during printing: the first phase occurs when capillary action pulls on the polymer ink as it begins to evaporate, while the second phase is the result of the forces imposed by the printing blades and substrate.
"Park and Kwok uncovered another phase that occurs during printing in which the polymers appear to have vastly different properties," Diao said. "This third phase occurs in between the two already-defined phases, and shows the polymers being stretched into planar shapes."
Not only are the polymers stretched and flattened in this third phase, but they also remain that way after precipitating out of solution, Diao said. This makes it possible to fine-tune printer settings to produce flat conjugated polymers for use in new, faster biomedical devices and flexible electronics.
"We are discovering a whole zoo of new polymer phases, all sensitive to the forces that take place during the printing process," Diao said. "We envision that these unexplored equilibria and flow-induced phases will ultimately translate into new conjugated polymers with exciting optoelectronic properties."
This story is adapted from material from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, with editorial changes made by Materials Today. The views expressed in this article do not necessarily represent those of Elsevier. Link to original source.