Researchers at Stanford have developed a new material for rapid printing at the nanoscale.With its help, they
To create their material, engineers includedmetal nanoclusters—tiny clumps of atoms—into a printing medium using two-photon lithography. This is a method in which the printed material is hardened by a chemical reaction initiated by laser light.
The scientists found that their nanoclusters were very good at triggering the desired reactions, and the result was a material that is a composite of polymer print media and metal.
A tiny Stanford logo printed with a new material. Image: John Kulikowski, Stanford
Researchers have managed to combine metalnanoclusters with various materials for 3D printing. Among them are acrylates, epoxy resins and proteins. This means that the new method is suitable for use in a wide variety of areas, the developers say.
In addition, nanoclusters helped speed up the processprint. For example, by combining nanoclusters with proteins, Gu and her colleagues were able to print at speeds of 100mm per second, about 100 times faster than traditional nanoscale protein printing technologies.
The reaction of the material to the impact. Video: Qi Li et al., Science
Researchers tested their new materialwith several different lattice structures. The study showed that the new material improves the products' ability to absorb energy, increase strength and recoverability - in fact, the ability to compress and spring back.
Read more:
Why the Moon and not Mars: the main thing about the Artemis-1 mission and why it is needed
An ancient amulet rewrote the history of Europe's most mysterious language
The main theory of the origin of man was refuted: where did we come from