3D fabrication of all-polymer conductive microstructures by two photon polymerization

A technique to fabricate electrically conductive all-polymer 3D microstructures is reported. Superior conductivity, high spatial resolution and three-dimensionality are achieved by successive application of two-photon polymerization and in situ oxidative polymerization to a bi-component formulation, containing a photosensitive host matrix and an intrinsically conductive polymer precursor. By using polyethylene glycol diacrylate (PEG-DA) and 3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene (EDOT), the conductivity of 0.04 S/cm is reached, which is the highest value for the two-photon polymerized all-polymer microstructures to date. The measured electrical conductivity dependency on the EDOT concentration indicates percolation phenomenon and a three-dimensional nature of the conductive pathways. Tunable conductivity, biocompatibility, and environmental stability are the characteristics offered by PEG-DA/EDOT blends which can be employed in biomedicine, MEMS, microfluidics, and sensorics.