3D printing of metallic structures using dopamine-integrated photopolymer

Abstract

After 3D printing technology has been advancing for several years, it still faces a huge challenge to fabricate 3D metal structures with high-resolution. In this study, a facile strategy of making high-resolution metallic structures based on the bioinspired 3D printing method was proposed. A bioinspired initiator, dopamine, was mixed into a 3D printing photopolymer, which could be conducive to fabricating metallic structures after direct surface-initiated electroless plating (ELP). Because of the intrinsic high resolution of the structures printed with the digital light processing (DLP) technology, complex objects with a feature resolution on the order of 137 μm were fabricated. Moreover, Cu- and Ni-parts of complex structures with a high resolution were demonstrated. By combining the advantages of 3D printing in structure design with those of surface modification assisted by catechol groups, the proposed method was confirmed as a cost-effective method to significantly enhance the capability of 3D printing, and it could endow the 3D printing technology with more practical applications in electronics, acoustic absorption, catalyst supports and other fields.