Remarkable Dielectric Breakdown Strength of Printable Polyelectrolyte Photopolymer Complexes

Polymer-based dielectrics are struggling to keep pace with the increasing demands of modern electronics. This lag in dielectric performance has spurred significant interest in the production of advanced dielectrics via novel chemistries and processing techniques. Polyelectrolyte complexes (PECs) have recently shown great promise as dielectric insulation, but processing challenges presented by these ionically bound networks limit their use to conformal thin films. Recent advances have enabled the additive manufacturing of PECs with vat photopolymerization, allowing the creation of a polyelectrolyte complex of arbitrary shape. Herein, multiple polyelectrolyte resin formulations, comprised of polyethylenimine and methacrylic acid (with varying amounts of 2-hydroxyethyl methacrylate and/or N,N-dimethylacrylamide), are investigated for the production of additively manufactured dielectric insulators. These dielectrics not only possess high dielectric breakdown strengths (>300 kV/mm), but their dielectric behavior can also be readily tailored through resin formulation and post-processing conditions. The presented vat photopolymerization of PECs allows for the creation of bulk dielectrics with arbitrary geometry, while the novel chemistry provides a practical route forward to produce dielectrics with precisely tailored properties for specific applications.