ADDITIVE MANUFACTURING OF PVDF-TRFE PIEZO- AND PYROELECTRIC SENSORS

Additive manufacturing, specifically the Fused Deposition Modeling (FDM) method, has emerged as a promising technique for manufacturing. Using FDM, complex geometries can be created using precise layer-by-layer deposition of material. Among the advantages of this method are its cost-effectiveness, rapid prototyping capabilities, and ability to customize. Due to the similar melting point of ferroelectric polymers PVDF and PVDF-TrFE, which can be used for FDM printers, this study examined the possibility of using FDM for additive manufacturing of PVDF and PVDF-TrFE sensors with enhanced piezoelectric and pyroelectric properties. The resulting sensors can find applications in diverse fields such as biomedical engineering, robotics, energy harvesting, and sensing technologies, enabling advancements in various sectors that require sensitive and reliable sensor systems. Although both PVDF and PVDF-TrFE can be printed by FDM, the XRD result indicated that only PVDF-TrFE crystallized in the polar phase upon cooling from the melt while PVDF always crystallized in the nonpolar phase. Therefore, only PVDF-TrFE could be used for piezoelectric and pyroelectric samples. Using the corona discharge method, consistent responses from both piezoand pyroelectric sensors were observed. Using a 30 mW laser, samples were measured for pyroelectricity. Upon poling at 25 kV for 10 minutes at room temperature, the maximum pyroelectric response was 50 mV. Samples were clamped in one end and measured in deflection mode for their piezoelectric response. Upon stimulating the free end of a PVDF-TrFE sample printed on a PVDF layer as a substrate, 130 V of open circuit piezoelectric response was observed.