# Tailored 3D Lattice SAPO-34/S-PEEK Composite Sorbents by Additive Manufacturing for Sorption Heat Transformation Applications

## TL;DR

Researchers created a 3D-printed composite material for energy conversion that efficiently adsorbs and desorbs water vapor.

## Contribution

A novel 3D lattice composite of SAPO-34 and S-PEEK was fabricated without reinforcement for sorption heat transformation.

## Key findings

- The composite structure showed good adsorption/desorption capacity for water vapor at low pressures.
- Tailored lattice structures were successfully produced using additive manufacturing without metal or plastic support.
- Morphological analysis confirmed the structural integrity of the 3D-printed composite.

## Abstract

The development of high-performance adsorbent materials is crucial for any sorption-based energy conversion process. In such a context, composite sorbent materials, although promising in terms of performance and stability, are often challenging to shape into complex geometries. Additive manufacturing, also known as 3D printing, has emerged as a powerful technique for fabricating intricate structures with tailored properties. In this paper, an innovative three-dimensional structure, constituted by zeolite as filler and sulfonated polyether ether ketone as matrix, was obtained using additive manufacturing technology, which is mainly suitable for sorption-based energy conversion processes. The lattice structure was tailored in order to optimize the synthesis procedure and material stability. The complex three-dimensional lattice structure was obtained without a metal or plastic reinforcement support. The composite structure was evaluated to assess its structural integrity using morphological analysis. Furthermore, the adsorption/desorption capacity was evaluated using water-vapor adsorption isobars at 11 mbar at equilibrium in the temperature range 30–120 °C, confirming good adsorption/desorption capacity.