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3D Printing of Interconnection-Tunable Porous Ink
Wongi Kim1, Minseong Kang1, Jongkyeong Lim1
1Department of Mechanical Engineering, Gachon University, 1342 Seongnamdaero, Sujeong-gu, Seongnam-si, 13120, Gyeonggi-do, Republic of Korea.
ACS Applied Materials & Interfaces
|August 11, 2025
Summary
A new 3D printable ink allows precise control over pore connectivity in elastic materials. This innovation enables tunable porous structures for applications in filtration, microfluidics, and soft robotics.
Area of Science:
- Materials Science
- Chemical Engineering
- Biomedical Engineering
Background:
- Fabricating 3D porous materials with controlled pore interconnectivity is challenging.
- Existing methods often lack fine control over pore structure and material properties.
Purpose of the Study:
- To introduce an interconnection-tunable porous ink (ITPI) platform for creating 3D porous structures with programmable pore connectivity.
- To demonstrate the ITPI's capability in fabricating highly elastic and superelastic porous architectures.
Main Methods:
- Developed a multiphasic suspension (ITPI) comprising a polymer precursor, sacrificial particles, and a wetting liquid.
- Utilized direct ink writing (DIW) 3D printing with the ITPI for fabricating porous structures.
- Adjusted wetting liquid content to tune pore interconnection width.
Main Results:
- Successfully fabricated 3D porous sponges (p-ITPI) with tunable interconnection widths (micrometer scale).
- Achieved excellent shape fidelity, adjustable permeability, and long-term superelasticity (>1000 cycles).
- Demonstrated applications in oil absorption, microfluidic fluid release, and liquid metal-infused piezoresistive sensing.
Conclusions:
- The ITPI platform provides a generalizable method for engineering porous materials with tunable interconnectivity.
- This approach is suitable for diverse applications including filtration, microfluidics, soft robotics, and biomedical systems.
