Architecting ordered mesoporous materials via additive manufacturing

Area of Science:

• Materials Science
• Nanotechnology
• Chemical Engineering

Background:

• Ordered mesoporous materials (OMMs) show great application potential but face challenges in scalable fabrication into diverse forms.
• Current methods primarily produce OMMs as particles or films, with limited options for complex macroscopic structures.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop a versatile manufacturing platform for fabricating OMMs with controlled 3D structures.
• To enable on-demand control over both macroscopic shape and nanoscale properties of OMMs.

Main Methods:

• Utilized commodity thermoplastic elastomer (TPE) precursors for OMM fabrication.
• Employed additive manufacturing techniques to achieve on-demand control over 3D structures.
• Systematically investigated macroscopic dimensions, nanostructure, chemical composition, and morphology.

Main Results:

• Successfully fabricated OMMs with controllable macroscopic dimensions and nanostructures.
• Demonstrated the versatility of the method across various matrix chemistries (polymers, carbons, nanocomposites).
• Established a robust platform for producing complex OMM architectures.

Conclusions:

• Presents an innovative, cost-effective route for manufacturing OMMs with integrated macro- and nanoscale control.
• This method overcomes limitations in OMM form factor fabrication, paving the way for broader applications.
• The platform is adaptable to diverse materials, enhancing the utility of OMMs in advanced technologies.