U.S. patent application number 14/481362 was filed with the patent office on 2016-03-10 for system and method for 3d printing of aerogels.
The applicant listed for this patent is Lawrence Livermore National Security, LLC. Invention is credited to Eric DUOSS, Joshua KUNTZ, Christopher SPADACCINI, Marcus A. WORSLEY, Cheng ZHU.
Application Number | 20160067891 14/481362 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 55410325 |
Filed Date | 2016-03-10 |
United States Patent
Application |
20160067891 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
WORSLEY; Marcus A. ; et
al. |
March 10, 2016 |
SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR 3D PRINTING OF AEROGELS
Abstract
A method of forming an aerogel. The method may involve providing
a graphene oxide powder and mixing the graphene oxide powder with a
solution to form an ink. A 3D printing technique may be used to
write the ink into a catalytic solution that is contained in a
fluid containment member to form a wet part. The wet part may then
be cured in a sealed container for a predetermined period of time
at a predetermined temperature. The cured wet part may then be
dried to form a finished aerogel part.
Inventors: |
WORSLEY; Marcus A.;
(Hayward, CA) ; DUOSS; Eric; (Dublin, CA) ;
KUNTZ; Joshua; (Livermore, CA) ; SPADACCINI;
Christopher; (Livermore, CA) ; ZHU; Cheng;
(Livermore, CA) |
|
Applicant: |
Name |
City |
State |
Country |
Type |
Lawrence Livermore National Security, LLC |
Livermore |
CA |
US |
|
|
Family ID: |
55410325 |
Appl. No.: |
14/481362 |
Filed: |
September 9, 2014 |
Current U.S.
Class: |
216/56 ; 264/129;
425/508 |
Current CPC
Class: |
B29C 64/112 20170801;
B33Y 10/00 20141201; B33Y 70/00 20141201; C01B 32/23 20170801 |
International
Class: |
B29C 41/00 20060101
B29C041/00; C01B 31/04 20060101 C01B031/04 |
Goverment Interests
STATEMENT OF GOVERNMENT RIGHTS
[0001] The United States Government has rights in this invention
pursuant to Contract No. DE-AC52-07NA27344 between the U.S.
Department of Energy and Lawrence Livermore National Security, LLC,
for the operation of Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory.
Claims
1. A method of forming an aerogel including: providing a graphene
oxide powder; mixing the graphene oxide powder with a solution to
form an ink; using a 3D printing technique to write the ink into a
catalytic solution that is contained in a fluid containment member
to form a wet part; curing the wet part in a sealed container for a
predetermined period of time at a predetermined temperature, to
form a cured wet part; and drying the cured wet part to form a
finished aerogel part.
2. The method of claim 1, wherein the 3D printing technique is
performed repeatedly to form a plurality of ink layers, one on top
of another.
3. The method of claim 1, wherein the 3D printing technique is
performed using a continuous stream of the ink to deposit the ink
in a desired pattern in the catalytic solution.
4. The method of claim 1, wherein the 3D printing technique is
performed using droplets of the ink to deposit the ink in a desired
pattern in the catalytic solution.
5. The method of claim 1, further comprising washing the cured wet
part prior to drying the cured wet part.
6. The method of claim 1, further comprising adding a filler
material into the ink prior to performing the 3D printing
technique.
7. The method of claim 6, wherein adding the filler material
comprises adding at least one of the following materials: fumed
silica; carbon black; and graphene nanoplatelets.
8. The method of claim 6, further comprising removing the filler
material from the finished aerogel part.
9. The method of claim 8, wherein the filler material is etched
using sodium hydroxide to remove the filler material from the
finished aerogel part.
10. The method of claim 1, further comprising applying a thermal
treatment to the finished aerogel part to enhance electrical
conductivity of the finished aerogel part.
11. The method of claim 1, wherein the finished aerogel part forms
a multi-layer, three dimensional structure.
12. The method of claim 1, wherein the finished aerogel part forms
a three dimensional structure having a hierarchy of pore sizes
ranging from less than 2 nm to greater than 100 microns.
13. A method of forming an aerogel including: providing a graphene
oxide powder; mixing the graphene oxide powder with an aqueous
solution; performing a sonication operation on the mixture of the
graphene oxide powder and the aqueous solution to form an ink;
using a 3D printing technique to write the ink into a catalytic
solution, wherein the catalytic solution is contained in a fluid
containment member; performing the 3D printing technique to apply
the ink to form a plurality of ink layers, one on top of another,
to form a wet three dimensional part having a desired shape and
desired dimensions; curing the wet three dimensional part in a
sealed container for a predetermined period of time at a
predetermined temperature to produce a cured wet three dimensional
part; and supercritically drying the cured wet three dimensional
part to form a finished aerogel part.
14. The method of claim 13, wherein the curing is performed in a
sealed container at a predetermined temperature for a predetermined
time period.
15. The method of claim 14, wherein the curing is performed at a
temperature of about 85 degree Celsius.
16. The method of claim 13, further comprising, after curing the
wet three dimensional part, washing the cured, wet three
dimensional part prior to supercritically drying the cured, wet
three dimensional part.
17. The method of claim 13, further comprising performing a thermal
operation on the finished aerogel part to enhance its electrical
conductivity.
18. The method of claim 13, further comprising: applying a filler
material to the ink before the ink is used in the 3D printing; and
after the supercritical drying, removing the filler material from
the finished aerogel part.
19. The method of claim 13, wherein using the 3D printing technique
to write the ink into a catalytic solution comprises using the 3D
printing technique to write the ink into ammonia saturated
iso-octane.
20. (canceled)
Description
FIELD
[0002] The present disclosure relates to aerogels and the
manufacture of aerogels, and more particularly to an aerogel made
using a 3D printing technique.
BACKGROUND
[0003] The statements in this section merely provide background
information related to the present disclosure and may not
constitute prior art.
[0004] Materials with hierarchical porosity find applications in a
wide range of technologies. Such applications may involve
catalysis, desalination, energy storage and conversion, thermal and
acoustic insulation applications, and filtration applications as
sorbents for water purification, just to name a few. Aerogels,
foams and ordered arrays of hollow spheres are desirable for such
applications, with aerogels being especially desirable. Aerogels
are microporous and mesoporous (pores <300 nm),
ultra-lightweight materials that can achieve surface areas in
excess of 3000 m.sup.2/g. Because of these characteristics, they
are ideally suited for the above listed technologies and
applications.
[0005] Aerogels are made via the sol-gel process in which a
reaction solution is gelled and the solvent is extracted. The
solvent is extracted in such a way as to leave the porous, solid
matrix intact. Though the pore sizes of aerogels can typically be
tuned somewhat by varying the synthetic parameters of the sol-gel
process, limitations do exist. The hierarchical nature of the
porosity (e.g. pores on several size scales) allows these materials
to simultaneously achieve high surface areas (pores <2 nm), and
fast mass transport (pores >1 micron) leading to improved
performance in relevant applications, such as catalysis. The
techniques used to achieve these materials are typically limited in
either the range of pore sizes that can be achieved and/or the
time/cost of the process. Accordingly, there is still a strong
interest in a method that can be carried out rapidly, and which is
able to precisely tailor materials to have a hierarchy of pore
sizes. In particular, there is a particularly strong interest in
tailoring a system and method that can be used to produce an
aerogel having pores ranging from less than about 2 nm in diameter
to greater than about 100 microns in diameter. There is also a
strong interest in a new system and method which enables an aerogel
to be formed which has an improved hierarchy of pore sizes, a
greater range of pore sizes, and the ability to form the aerogel
such that pores of selected sizes can be placed (i.e., formed) at
specific locations of the aerogel.
SUMMARY
[0006] In one aspect the present disclosure relates to a method of
forming an aerogel. The method may involve providing a graphene
oxide powder and mixing the graphene oxide powder with a solution
to form an ink. A 3D printing technique may be used to write the
ink into a catalyst that is contained in a fluid containment
member. The ink may be used to form a wet part. The wet part may
then be cured in a sealed container for a predetermined period of
time at a predetermined temperature, to form a cured, wet part. The
cured wet part may then be dried to form a finished aerogel
part.
[0007] In another aspect the present disclosure relates to a method
of forming an aerogel. The method may include providing a graphene
oxide powder and mixing the graphene oxide powder with an aqueous
solution. A sonication operation may be performed on the mixture of
the graphene oxide powder and the aqueous solution to form an ink.
A 3D printing technique may be used to write the ink into a
catalytic solution that is contained in a fluid containment member.
The 3D printing may be performed to apply the ink to form a
plurality of ink layers, one on top of another, to form a wet three
dimensional part having a desired shape and desired dimensions. The
wet three dimensional part may be cured in a sealed container for a
predetermined period of time at a predetermined temperature to form
a cured, wet three dimensional part. The cured, wet three
dimensional part may then be supercritically dried to form a
finished aerogel part.
[0008] In still another aspect the present disclosure relates to a
system for forming an aerogel. The system may include a controller
and a deposition component controlled by the controller for
depositing an ink in a catalyst. The ink may include a graphene
oxide powder in a solution. The controller may be further
configured to implement a 3D printing technique to write the ink
into a catalytic solution, wherein the catalytic solution is
contained in a fluid containment member. The 3D printing technique
may be used by the controller to form a plurality of ink layers one
on top of another to form a wet three dimensional part. A sealed
container may be included for curing the wet three dimensional part
for a predetermined period of time at a predetermined temperature,
to form a cured, wet three dimensional part. A subsystem may be
included for drying the cured, wet three dimensional part to form a
finished aerogel part.
[0009] Further areas of applicability will become apparent from the
description provided herein. It should be understood that the
description and specific examples are intended for purposes of
illustration only and are not intended to limit the scope of the
present disclosure.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0010] The drawings described herein are for illustration purposes
only and are not intended to limit the scope of the present
disclosure in any way.
[0011] FIG. 1 is a high level perspective view illustrating a 3D
printing process where graphene oxide (GO) cross-linked sheets are
created as a plurality of layers using the 3D printing process to
begin the formation of a three dimensional wet part;
[0012] FIG. 2 is a high level perspective illustration of a three
dimensional wet GO gel structure created using the 3D printing
process;
[0013] FIG. 3 is a perspective view of the 3D printed graphene
aerogel part that results after supercritical drying and
annealing;
[0014] FIG. 4 is a flowchart illustrating one example of operations
that may be used to form an aerogel part in accordance with the
present disclosure;
[0015] FIG. 5 is a graph illustrating a plot of storage modulus
versus oscillatory stress for several 3D printing inks; and
[0016] FIGS. 6 and 7 illustrate differences in the morphology of 3D
printed aerogel parts (FIG. 6), and 3D printed graphene
nanoplatelet filled aerogels (FIG. 7) made with a method of the
present disclosure.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
[0017] The following description is merely exemplary in nature and
is not intended to limit the present disclosure, its application or
uses. It should be understood that throughout the drawings,
corresponding reference numerals indicate like or corresponding
parts and features.
[0018] For applications that require faster mass transport through
the aerogel, alternative methods for incorporating larger pore
networks into the aerogel structure are desired. The present
disclosure addresses this need through a system and method of
making an aerogel that incorporates the technique (i.e., process)
of 3D printing of sol-gel materials, which upon drying become 3D
printed aerogels. Characterization of the 3D printed aerogels will
be discussed in comparison to their bulk counterparts. The
presently disclosed method also forms a fast method for precisely
tailoring a hierarchy of materials with pores that can range from
less than 2 nm to greater than about 100 microns.
[0019] In a typical synthesis, an ink is initially formed using an
aqueous suspension of about 1-60 mg/cc of graphene oxide (GO), and
more preferably about 40 mg/cc graphene oxide. The aqueous
suspension may be prepared by sonication to form an ink.
Alternatively, an organic solution/solvent could be used. A filler,
for example fumed silica, carbon black, graphene nanoplatelets,
etc., can be added to further tune the properties of the ink.
[0020] FIG. 1 illustrates a high level depiction of a system 10
that implements a 3D printing technique which is used to write the
ink into a bath of a suitable catalytic solution. The ink is
supplied via a reservoir 12 to a suitable application nozzle 10.
The movement of the nozzle 12 within three axes (X, Y and Z) may be
controlled by a controller 14 (e.g., computer). The application of
ink from the reservoir 14 may also be controlled by the controller
16. The controller 16 may be part of a computer-aided design (CAD)
and/or computer aided manufacturing (CAM) system.
[0021] The catalytic solution that the ink is deposited in may be a
bath of ammonia saturated iso-octane 18 held within a suitable
fluid containment member, for example a petry dish 18a. One layer
at a time may be formed by depositing the ink in the desired
pattern to form a wet three dimensional structure. The ink may be
deposited in any desired pattern. In the example shown in FIG. 2,
each layer forms a cross-linked sheet. By "cross-linked" it is
meant that bonding between the graphene oxide layers occurs. It
will be appreciated that this happens on a microscopic level, and
represents how the solution transitions from a liquid to a gel. Any
desired pattern can be used when laying down each layer of ink to
meet the needs of a specific application, providing of course that
the layers are somehow inter-linked in a suitable manner such that
upon drying, the resulting structure will form a single, integrated
structure. In one example the ink is deposited as a continuous
stream or bead using the nozzle 12. In some applications, however,
it may be more advantageous to deposit the ink as distinct
droplets. The present disclosure contemplates applying the ink in
both fashions. In some instances, depositing the ink as droplets
via a digital control system controlling the output of the nozzle
12 may enable more controlled deposition of the ink and/or even
more complex deposition patterns to be realized. And of course, a
plurality of nozzles could be employed to deposit a plurality of
different types of ink, either as streams of ink or as droplets of
ink, to meet or optimize the manufacturing of a specific part.
Using a plurality of different types of ink during the 3D printing
operation to make different portions of a single part can enable
even further tailoring of specific portions of the part to impart
desired and/or different characteristics to various portions of the
part. A 3D printed, wet, graphene oxide gel, fully formed three
dimensional part (i.e., structure) 20, ready for drying, is shown
in FIG. 2.
[0022] FIG. 3 illustrates a finished 3D printed graphene oxide,
three dimensional aerogel part 22.
[0023] FIG. 4 is a flowchart 100 of one example that sets forth
additional details on how the finished three dimensional part 22 of
FIG. 3 may be formed. At operation 102 graphene oxide powder may be
mixed with an aqueous solution and then sonicated for preferably
about 0.5-48 hours, and more preferably about 24 hours, to form a
graphene oxide (GO) ink. In one example the mixture of graphene
oxide powder and the aqueous solution comprises about 40 mg/cc of
graphene oxide, although this may vary to suit specific
applications. The sonication serves to dispense the GO
layers/sheets. Put differently, sonication helps to achieve a
uniform dispersion of GO layers/sheets and to minimize/eliminate
the occurrence of clogging of the nozzle 12 during the 3D printing
process. Optimizing dispersion of GO layers/sheets also maximizes
the surface area in the 3D printed aerogel. Optionally, at
operation 102a, a filler material, for example and without
limitation, silica nanoparticles, may be added to tune the
properties of the resulting ink. By "tune" it is meant tailor
properties such as, without limitation, viscosity and yield stress.
Other filler materials could comprise fumed silica, carbon black or
graphene nanoplatelets, just to name a few.
[0024] At operation 104 a 3D printing technique is used to write
the ink into a bath of a suitable catalytic solution. In one
example the catalytic solution may be ammonia saturated iso-octane.
Other catalytic solutions could be, for example, sodium carbonate,
ascorbic acid, sodium hydroxide, etc. Alternatively, the catalytic
solution can be added directly to the ink before the 3D printing
takes place. The ink may be deposited as a stream or as a pulsed
series of droplets in a desired pattern. The first layer is
deposited on the surface of the petry dish 18a while the petry dish
is filled with the selected catalytic solution. Additional layers
are successively printed on top of one another to build up the wet
three dimensional part 20 shown in FIG. 2. It is important that the
ink be written into a liquid solution so that the ink does not dry
out during the 3D printing process. The liquid also needs to be
immiscible with water; iso-octane is one such liquid.
[0025] With continuing reference 4, at operation 106 the immersed
3D printed, wet three dimensional part 20 is then cured at a
suitable temperature in a hermetically sealed container for
preferably about 8-72 hours. A suitable temperature range is about
70-100 degrees Celsius, and more preferably about 85 degrees
Celsius. The curing achieves gelation of the wet three dimensional
part 20. At operation 108 the 3D printed wet three dimensional part
20, which is still a wet gel, may be washed.
[0026] At operation 110 the 3D printed wet three dimensional part
20 may be supercritically heated to dry it to form the finished
three dimensional aerogel part 22 shown in FIG. 3. Alternatively,
freeze drying or ambient drying could be performed instead of using
supercritical heating. Optionally, an annealing operation may also
be performed on the dried part. Optionally, an etching operation
may also be performed on the dried part to remove filler.
[0027] Operation 112 is an optional thermal operation that may be
performed to carbonize the finished three dimensional aerogel part
22. Carbonization enhances the electrical conductivity of the
finished three dimensional aerogel part 22. Operation 114 is also
optional if a filler has been used in the ink. Operation 114 may
involve using a suitable substance, for example sodium hydroxide,
to etch out the filler from the finished 3D printed aerogel part
22.
[0028] FIG. 5 illustrates a plot of storage modulus versus
oscillatory stress for several 3D printing inks.
[0029] FIGS. 6 and 7 illustrate the differences in morphology of 3D
printed aerogels made in accordance with the method described
herein, but without a filler material (FIG. 6), and 3D printed
aerogels made in accordance with the method described herein but
using graphene nanoplatelets as a filler material. The aerogel
without filler essentially looks like a standard bulk aerogel.
However, with the filler material, the aerogel structure is
significantly altered with less meso and macropores than the
standard bulk aerogel.
[0030] The system and method of the present disclosure can be used
to form not only graphene oxide aerogels, but also, without
limitation, graphene/carbon nanotube aerogels, organic aerogels and
carbon aerogels. Still further, the system and method of the
present disclosure may be used to form aerogels from, but not
limited to, metal oxides, metal sulfides, metals, ceramics,
carbides, nitrides, sulfides, borides, chalcogenides, etc.
[0031] The system and method of the present disclosure thus
provides a method which can be used to rapidly produce a graphene
oxide aerogel having a hierarchy of pore sizes. The 3D printed
graphene oxide aerogel produced by the system and method of the
present disclosure simultaneously achieves high surface areas
(pores greater than 2 nm) and fast mass transport (pores greater
than 1 micron) in a structure that still maintains excellent
mechanical elasticity. The 3D printed graphene oxide aerogel
structures produced using the method of the present disclosure are
ideally suited for a wide range of applications involving energy
storage, electronics, composites, actuators, and sensors, just to
name potential fields of application.
[0032] Importantly, the system and method of the present disclosure
enables both an improved hierarchy of pore sizes and a greater
range of pore sizes. The "improved" hierarchy is the ability to
deterministically place large pores where the designer wants them
in the finished aerogel part. This may be achieved because with the
present system and method, the designer can essentially put the ink
where it is desired and write virtually any pattern that is
desired. Porosity can be controlled by controlling the space that
separates each line of ink that is written. This spacing can be
controlled from the 100's of nanometers to over 100's of microns.
And the shape of the spacing or void created just depends on the
particular pattern that the designer wishes to write. Thus, the
system and method of the present disclosure enables "designed
porosity" of the finished aerogel part, not random porosity
throughout the part. Furthermore, the typical range of pores in
aerogels range from about 1 nm to 10's of microns, but with the
present system and method, aerogels can be produced which have
pores which can range from 1 nm to 100's of microns. And again, the
0.1-100's of microns range can be designed, not random.
[0033] While various embodiments have been described, those skilled
in the art will recognize modifications or variations which might
be made without departing from the present disclosure. The examples
illustrate the various embodiments and are not intended to limit
the present disclosure. Therefore, the description and claims
should be interpreted liberally with only such limitation as is
necessary in view of the pertinent prior art.
* * * * *