凯发

Three-dimensional (3D) printing has been recently predicted to transform the life of humans in the coming decades as dramatically as the Internet had. This technique is becoming a viable alternative to conventional manufacturing processes in an increasing number of applications. There are a variety of processes for 3D printing, such as extrusion, granular, and lamination processes. In general procedure of 3D printing, the molten material is stacked, quickly cools and solidifies. Most of the processes require a heat source (a laser or an electron beam) to melt materials for building objects.

Here, we demonstrate a novel strategy for multiple-materials 3D printing at room temperature in ambient air conditions. The 3D micro- and nanostructures are printed by an omnidirectional accurate control of a micropipette (“fountain-pen”) filled with a solution (“ink”). A simple modulation of the ink leads to 3D printing for multiple-materials, such as conducting polymer, carbon nanotube (CNT), graphene, metal and even their composite. The employed printing technique is based on the simple procedure: when the fountain-pen touches the substrate, a meniscus of the ink is created outside its opening and the solvent is evaporated at the same time. As the fountain-pen is pulled away, the meniscus is stretched and its cross section decreases. In case of conducting polymer, CNT, graphene, and their composite, the nanostructures are formed by a van der waals force between substances during solvent evaporation. On the other hands, 3D metallic structures are fabricated by a meniscusguided electrodeposition. The feature of grown metallic structure (i.e. dense or hollow feature) is controlled by a modulation of applied voltage. As a result, 3D structures for diverse materials are successfully fabricated: the arched wire, the 3D wire-junction and woven structure, the structures corresponding to the letters “KERI”, the martial arts artist, and the mesh structure. We are convinced that this novel approach, “Fountain-Pen Printing”, is quite effective in 3D printing of multiplematerials for the implementation of the next-generation of 3D electrical devices.