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IPFS News Link • 3D Printing

Metal/polymer composite makes for stronger 3D-printed nanostructures

• https://newatlas.com by By Ben Coxworth

Developed by scientists at Stanford University, the composite material is intended mainly for use in nanoscale lattice-like structures utilized to protect tiny underlying components (such as those in electronics). It consists of a polymer resin combined with tiny clumps of metal atoms, known as metal nanoclusters.

In an existing process called two-photon lithography, a laser is shone into the liquid resin mixture. Wherever the very center of that beam strikes one of the nanoclusters, a chemical reaction occurs, causing the resin to harden in that specific area. Therefore, by precisely moving the laser beam through the resin, it's possible to build up very small, intricate objects.


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