Stereolithography 3D Printed Carbon Microlattices with Hierarchical Porosity for Structural and Functional...

Area of Science:

• Materials Science
• Nanotechnology
• Electrochemistry

Background:

• Developing advanced carbon materials with controlled porosity is crucial for high-performance energy storage devices.
• 3D printing offers precise control over material architecture, enabling novel microstructures.
• Hierarchically porous materials combine properties of different pore sizes for enhanced functionality.

Purpose of the Study:

• To fabricate hierarchically porous carbon microlattices (HPCMLs) using stereolithography (SLA) 3D printing.
• To investigate the structural, mechanical, and electrochemical properties of the synthesized HPCMLs.
• To evaluate the potential of HPCMLs as thick electrodes for supercapacitors.

Main Methods:

• Fabrication of composite photoresin containing magnesium oxide nanoparticles (MgO NPs) and graphene nanosheets.
• Stereolithography (SLA) 3D printing to create simple cubic microlattices with designed porosity.
• Carbonization at 1000 °C, followed by chemical removal of MgO NPs to create hierarchical porosity.
• Mechanical testing (compressive strength, Young's modulus) and electrochemical evaluation (capacitance) of HPCMLs.

Main Results:

• HPCMLs with hierarchical porosity (micro-, meso-, and macropores) were successfully synthesized.
• Achieved compressive strength of 7.45–10.45 MPa and Young's modulus of 375–736 MPa.
• Demonstrated high gravimetric capacitances of 105 F g⁻¹ (aqueous) and 13.8 F g⁻¹ (organic), and areal capacitances >10 F cm⁻² and >1 F cm⁻², respectively.
• Low linear shrinkage (33%) after pyrolysis was observed.

Conclusions:

• SLA 3D printing with a composite photoresin is an effective method for producing HPCMLs.
• The resulting HPCMLs possess excellent mechanical robustness and hierarchical porosity.
• HPCMLs show significant promise as high-performance thick electrodes for structural energy storage applications.