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Additive Manufacturing of Transparent Silica Glass from Solutions
Ido Cooperstein1, Efrat Shukrun1, Ofir Press1
1Casali Center for Applied Chemistry, Institute of Chemistry, The Center for Nanoscience and Nanotechnology , The Hebrew University of Jerusalem , Jerusalem 9190401 , Israel.
Abstract:
A sol, aqueous solution-based ink is presented for fabrication of 3D transparent silica glass objects with complex geometries, by a simple 3D printing process conducted at room temperature. The ink combines a hybrid ceramic precursor that can undergo both the photopolymerization reaction and a sol-gel process, both in the solution form, without any particles. The printing is conducted by localized photopolymerization with the use of a low-cost 3D printer. Following printing, upon aging and densifying, the resulting objects convert from a gel to a xerogel and then to a fused silica. The printed objects, which are composed of fused silica, are transparent and have tunable density and refractive indices.
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