2D Material Programming for 3D Manufacturing of Soft Conductive Materials

University Of Texas At Arlington, Arlington TX

Investigators

Abstract

This grant supports research that creates new knowledge to program the shape of polymeric materials for scalable and customizable 3D manufacturing of soft conductive materials. The manufacturing process will print 2D materials encoded with spatially controlled information allowing the structure to later transform into predetermined 3D structures. This 2D printable 3D manufacturing technology provides new ways to design and fabricate soft engineering systems, including those based on environment-responsive, shape-morphing 3D materials. The concept is applicable to other material systems over a range of length scales for broad applications, including soft electronic devices, soft machines, deployable systems, wearable devices, human–machine interfaces, and energy storage devices. This research contributes to sustaining global leadership of the United States in advanced manufacturing and benefit the United States economy and society. The research project provides opportunities for the development of developing the next generation of multidisciplinary researchers with expertise in additive manufacturing, soft materials, and computer science, enhance research-oriented multidisciplinary education through integration of research and education, and engage K-12 students and the general public in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics through museum and summer camp outreach programs. These activities will also broaden participation of underrepresented minority students in science and engineering. Morphing 2D materials into programmed 3D structures presents a new approach to the additive manufacturing of programmable soft materials. Despite its potential as a scalable, customizable, and deployable manufacturing technology, lack of programmable materials and how to design them remain a key challenge. Such 3D shaping approaches have mostly been limited to soft tissue-like hydrogels directed at bioinspired and biomedical applications in aqueous environments. This research investigates approaches to electrically conductive structures through the design and programming of the dual network polymer system consisting of hydrogels and ionoelastomers enabling scalable and customizable manufacturing of 3D structures of soft conductive materials. The research investigates and develops approaches for the formation of structures with non-Gaussian curvature through the determination of the formation process using an inverse design strategy based on algorithm development. The research team will explore how to program 2D ionic liquid-based polymers for their 3D manufacturing, investigate how to control and thus enhance the mechanical properties of ionic liquid-based polymers to manufacture 3D structures of soft conductive materials with enhanced mechanical properties, and develop environment-responsive shape-morphing 3D structures of soft conductive materials. This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.