Rapid Manufacturing of Complex-Structured Transparent Silica Glass Materials through a Hybridized Approach of Photo-Curing and Machining from Interparticle Photo-Cross-Linkable Suspensions.

Abstract

The rapid manufacturing of transparent SiO2 glass components via a hybridized 3D structuring approach for photo-curing and green machining, followed by a fast debinding/sintering process (at a heating rate of 20 °C min-1), is reported to be based on the design of a new series of interparticle photo-cross-linkable suspensions. In these suspensions, small amounts of multifunctional acrylates and silane alkoxides with acryloyl groups (A-Si) are co-photo-polymerized and further reacted with SiO2 particles modified using functionalized polyethyleneimine to form hybridized interparticle networks. The addition of A-Si increases the interparticle cross-linking densities, leading to an improvement in the mechanical properties and green machinability of the photo-cured bodies. Furthermore, the A-Si component in the cross-links forms siloxane-based networks among SiO2 particles in situ during the debinding/sintering process, which increases the mechanical strength of the debinded bodies and successfully prevents structural collapses under rapid heating conditions. The study demonstrates that the photo-cured body from the newly designed suspensions can be green-machined into pillars, microfluids, and assembling blocks and can be sintered into highly transparent SiO2 glass components. Overall, this work provides new options for the time- and energy-effective processing of SiO2 glass materials with tailor-made 3D structures.