20 research outputs found
Plastic Metal-Free Electric Motor by 3D Printing of Graphene-Polyamide Powder
3D printing has revolutionized
a number of industries, but complete extension to electronics, robotics,
and machines has yet to be realized. Current limitations are due to
the absence of reliable and facile methods and materials for accessing
conductive 3D printed materials. Traditional approaches to conducting
nanocomposites (melt-mixing and solution-mixing) require high energy,
are time-consuming, or demand functionalization for compatibilization
between filler and matrix. Moreover, these methods usually require
a high loading of nanofiller to establish a network of conductive
particles (high percolation threshold). As such, access to conductive
structures using standard 3D printing techniques and easily accessible
starting materials is ideal for realizing next generation conductive
polymer composites, with the added benefit of tailorability of size
and shape of objects produced. Herein we present a facile method to
prepare conductive polymer-based powder by assembling graphene oxide
nanosheets on the surface of commercial polymer powder, then reduce
the nanosheets to render them electrically conductive, and 3D print
by selective laser sintering. Importantly, this simple and scalable
method allows for polymer particles covered with carbon nanoparticles
to be used to 3D print useful electrically conductive structures without
a change to processing parameters compared to the polymer particles
themselves. The chemical composition and mechanical and electrical
properties of the composite materials were characterized, and we report
the first example of a working electrostatic motor composed completely
of 3D printed pieces, without any metal parts
Plastic Metal-Free Electric Motor by 3D Printing of Graphene-Polyamide Powder
3D printing has revolutionized
a number of industries, but complete extension to electronics, robotics,
and machines has yet to be realized. Current limitations are due to
the absence of reliable and facile methods and materials for accessing
conductive 3D printed materials. Traditional approaches to conducting
nanocomposites (melt-mixing and solution-mixing) require high energy,
are time-consuming, or demand functionalization for compatibilization
between filler and matrix. Moreover, these methods usually require
a high loading of nanofiller to establish a network of conductive
particles (high percolation threshold). As such, access to conductive
structures using standard 3D printing techniques and easily accessible
starting materials is ideal for realizing next generation conductive
polymer composites, with the added benefit of tailorability of size
and shape of objects produced. Herein we present a facile method to
prepare conductive polymer-based powder by assembling graphene oxide
nanosheets on the surface of commercial polymer powder, then reduce
the nanosheets to render them electrically conductive, and 3D print
by selective laser sintering. Importantly, this simple and scalable
method allows for polymer particles covered with carbon nanoparticles
to be used to 3D print useful electrically conductive structures without
a change to processing parameters compared to the polymer particles
themselves. The chemical composition and mechanical and electrical
properties of the composite materials were characterized, and we report
the first example of a working electrostatic motor composed completely
of 3D printed pieces, without any metal parts
Plastic Metal-Free Electric Motor by 3D Printing of Graphene-Polyamide Powder
3D printing has revolutionized
a number of industries, but complete extension to electronics, robotics,
and machines has yet to be realized. Current limitations are due to
the absence of reliable and facile methods and materials for accessing
conductive 3D printed materials. Traditional approaches to conducting
nanocomposites (melt-mixing and solution-mixing) require high energy,
are time-consuming, or demand functionalization for compatibilization
between filler and matrix. Moreover, these methods usually require
a high loading of nanofiller to establish a network of conductive
particles (high percolation threshold). As such, access to conductive
structures using standard 3D printing techniques and easily accessible
starting materials is ideal for realizing next generation conductive
polymer composites, with the added benefit of tailorability of size
and shape of objects produced. Herein we present a facile method to
prepare conductive polymer-based powder by assembling graphene oxide
nanosheets on the surface of commercial polymer powder, then reduce
the nanosheets to render them electrically conductive, and 3D print
by selective laser sintering. Importantly, this simple and scalable
method allows for polymer particles covered with carbon nanoparticles
to be used to 3D print useful electrically conductive structures without
a change to processing parameters compared to the polymer particles
themselves. The chemical composition and mechanical and electrical
properties of the composite materials were characterized, and we report
the first example of a working electrostatic motor composed completely
of 3D printed pieces, without any metal parts