Work

Computed axial lithography of multioxide glasses and ceramics from nanoparticles and organic–inorganic precursors

Year: 2025

Type: article

Abstract: • Advancement in new materials for computed axial lithography. • Materials: bioactive glass, transparent titanium dioxide glass, bioactive ceramic. • Assessment of different approaches for preparing highly transparent resins. Computed axial lithography is a volumetric additive manufacturing technique offering layer-free structuring and high fabrication speed by projecting a dynamic light pattern into a volume of photocurable resin. Ceramic and glass processing could benefit from this technology, as many applications, such as optics or bone grafts, require 3D structuring. However, developing suitable resins is challenging as high transparency of the photocurable resins is a necessity and standard particle-based resins are typically not transparent. In this study, we explored three novel approaches to fabricate transparent resins for structuring multioxide glasses and ceramics using computed axial lithography. The resins were composed of an acrylate-based binder and contained either nanoparticles, nanoparticles with an organic–inorganic precursor or only organic–inorganic precursors, as the glass or ceramic sources. The prints were thermally converted into pure glass or ceramic. We demonstrated this process for bioactive glass, bioactive calcium phosphate ceramic, and transparent titanium dioxide-doped silica glass. Microscaffolds were fabricated, and each material system was characterized regarding its suitability for computed axial lithography. This work expands the range of available computed axial lithography materials for microstructuring of functional multioxide glasses and ceramics.

Source: Additive Manufacturing Letters

DOI: 10.1016/j.addlet.2025.100334