Episode 1: Photochemistry combined with 3D printing generates complex ceramics structures

In this podcast episode, MRS Bulletin’s Laura Leay interviews Professor Jerry Qi and postdoctoral researcher Mingzhe Li of the Georgia Institute of Technology about their new technique to 3D print silica glass. After using two-photon polymerization to cross-link poly-dimethylsiloxane, Qi’s research team used deep UV to convert the polymer into silica glass. The deep UV irradiation is carried out in an oxygen-rich atmosphere. The UV light converts the oxygen to ozone, which then reacts with the polymer, prompting the formation of silica glass. Furthermore, printing of the silica glass is accomplished at the low temperature of 200°C, compared to 1000°C required for current methods of 3D printing. Qi’s group fabricated structures of several tens of micrometers in size, with a resolution of a few hundred nanometers. This work was published in a recent issue of Science Advances.