An official website of the United States government
Advances in vat photopolymerization 3D printing have the potential to significantly improve the production of ceramic materials for electrochemical energy devices. Solid oxide fuel cells (SOFCs) and solid oxide electrolysis cells (SOECs) necessitate high‐resolution ceramic manufacturing methods, as well as precisely controlled porosity (≈20–40%) for optimal gas transport. Achieving a balance between this porosity and mechanical integrity, especially under thermal stress, remains a challenge. Herein, the successful fabrication of porous yttria‐stabilized zirconia (YSZ) ceramics using vat photopolymerization 3D printing is demonstrated, achieving porosities ranging from 6% to 40% and corresponding grain sizes of ≈80–550 nm. It is found that 3D‐printed YSZ with ≈33% porosity exhibited a Weibull modulus ofm = 5.3 and a characteristic strength of over 36 MPa. In the investigation, it is further revealed that these ceramics can withstand thermal shock up to 500 °C, retaining over 70% of their flexural strength. This remarkable performance suggests significant potential for 3D‐printed porous YSZ in SOFCs and SOECs, paving the way for potential improved efficiency, reduced fabrication costs, and innovative designs in these next‐generation clean energy technologies.
more »
« less
3D‐AJP: Fabrication of Advanced Microarchitected Multimaterial Ceramic Structures via Binder‐Free and Auxiliary‐Free Aerosol Jet 3D Nanoprinting
Abstract Manufacturing of ceramics is challenging due to their low toughness and high hardness. Additive Manufacturing (AM) has been explored to create complex ceramic structures, but current techniques face a tradeoff between precisely controlled feature sizes and high shrinkage at the microscales. Here, we introduce 3D‐AJP, a novel freeform ceramic fabrication method that enables highly complex microscale 3D ceramic architectures—such as micropillars, spirals, and lattices—with minimal shrinkage and no auxiliary support. Using a near‐binder‐free nanoparticle ink in an Aerosol Jet (AJ) 3D printer, our approach precisely controls feature sizes down to 20 µm with aspect ratios up to 30:1. The resulting structures exhibit exceptionally low linear shrinkage of 2‐6% upon sintering, spanning five orders of magnitude in length scale. Bi‐material 3D architectures (zinc oxide/zirconia, zinc oxide/titania, titania/zirconia) and hybrid ceramics further demonstrate the technique’s versatility. We showcase two key applications. First, 3D ceramic photocatalysts improve water purification performance, achieving a 400% increase in photocatalytic efficiency compared to bulk ceramics. Second, we develop a highly sensitive Her2 biomarker sensor for breast cancer detection, achieving a 22‐second response time and a record‐low detection limit of 0.0193 fm. Our technique will lead to high‐performance sensing, filtration, microelectronics packaging, catalysis, and tissue regeneration technologies.
more »
« less
- Award ID(s):
- 2328678
- PAR ID:
- 10571368
- Publisher / Repository:
- Wiley Blackwell (John Wiley & Sons)
- Date Published:
- Journal Name:
- Advanced Science
- Volume:
- 12
- Issue:
- 15
- ISSN:
- 2198-3844
- Format(s):
- Medium: X
- Sponsoring Org:
- National Science Foundation
More Like this
-
-
Light- and ink-based 3D printing methods have vastly expanded the design space and geometric complexity of architected ceramics. However, light-based methods are typically confined to a relatively narrow range of preceramic and particle-laden resins, while ink-based methods are limited in geometric complexity due to layerwise assembly. Here, embedded 3D printing is combined with microwave-activated curing to generate architected ceramics with spatially controlled composition in freeform shapes. Aqueous colloidal inks are printed within a support matrix, rapidly cured via microwave-activated polymerization, and subsequently dried and sintered into dense architectures composed of one or more oxide materials. This integrated manufacturing method opens new avenues for the design and fabrication of complex ceramic architectures with programmed composition, density, and form for myriad applications.more » « less
-
3D microarchitected metamaterials exhibit unique, desirable properties influenced by their small length scales and architected layout, unachievable by their solid counterparts and random cellular configurations. However, few of them can be used in high-temperature applications, which could benefit significantly from their ultra-lightweight, ultrastiff properties. Existing high-temperature ceramic materials are often heavy and difficult to process into complex, microscale features. Inspired by this limitation, we fabricated polymer-derived ceramic metamaterials with controlled solid strut size varying from 10-µm scale to a few millimeters with relative densities ranging from as low as 1 to 22%. We found that these high-temperature architected ceramics of identical 3D topologies exhibit size-dependent strength influenced by both strut diameter and strut length. Weibull theory is utilized to map this dependency with varying single strut volumes. These observations demonstrate the structural benefits of increasing feature resolution in additive manufacturing of ceramic materials. Through capitalizing upon the reduction of unit strut volumes within the architecture, high-temperature ceramics could achieve high specific strength with only fraction of the weight of their solid counterparts.more » « less
-
Abstract Beta-tricalcium phosphate (β-TCP)-based bioinks were developed to support direct-ink 3D printing-based manufacturing of macroporous scaffolds. Binding of the gelatin:β-TCP ink compositions was optimized by adding carboxymethylcellulose (CMC) to maximize the β-TCP content while maintaining printability. Post-sintering, the gelatin:β-TCP:CMC inks resulted in uniform grain size, uniform shrinkage of the printed structure, and included microporosity within the ceramic. The mechanical properties of the inks improved with increasing β-TCP content. The gelatin:β-TCP:CMC ink (25:75 gelatin:β-TCP and 3% CMC) optimized for mechanical strength was used to 3D print several architectures of macroporous scaffolds by varying the print nozzle tip diameter and pore spacing during the 3D printing process (compressive strength of 13.1 ± 2.51 MPa and elastic modulus of 696 ± 108 MPa was achieved). The sintered, macroporous β-TCP scaffolds demonstrated both high porosity and pore size but retained mechanical strength and stiffness compared to macroporous, calcium phosphate ceramic scaffolds manufactured using alternative methods. The high interconnected porosity (45–60%) and fluid conductance (between 1.04 ×10 −9 and 2.27 × 10 −9 m 4 s/kg) of the β-TCP scaffolds tested, and the ability to finely tune the architecture using 3D printing, resulted in the development of novel bioink formulations and made available a versatile manufacturing process with broad applicability in producing substrates suitable for biomedical applications.more » « less
-
Abstract 3D printing (3DP) technologies have transformed the processing of advanced ceramics for small‐scale and custom designs during the past three decades. Simple and complex parts are designed and manufactured using 3DP technologies for structural, piezoelectric, and biomedical applications. Manufacturing simple or complex geometries or one‐of‐a‐kind components without part‐specific tooling saves significant time and creates new applications for advanced ceramic materials. Although development and innovations in 3DP of ceramics are far behind compared with metals or polymers, with the availability of different commercial machines in recent years for 3DP of ceramics, exponential growth is expected in this field in the coming decade. This article details various 3DP technologies for advanced ceramic materials, their advantages and challenges for manufacturing parts for various applications, and perspectives on future directions. We envision this work will be helpful to advanced ceramic researchers in industry and academia who are using different 3DP processes in the coming days.more » « less
