Nanoscale 3D Printing Allows Scientists To Print Materials on Atomic Level and Provides Numerous Applications in Electrochemistry

Traditional planar fabrication methods can create 3D materials with intricate designs, but additive manufacturing (AM) or 3D printing offers more potential for producing complex structures.

Recently, nanoscale 3D printing has attracted the attention of experts as it provides an alternative manufacturing technique for various applications in the industry. As our modern technology enables common devices to get smaller and handier, creating complex structures with nanoscale resolution is required.

Three-dimensional printing of plastics has reached the nanoscale dimensions. Meanwhile, manufacturing minute metallic materials using 3D technology faces more challenges. In some techniques, the printed objects are still a thousand times larger than the required size, while some materials are not fabricated with the needed degree of purity. Although conventional electrochemical methods can produce metallic conductors without impurities, experts cannot attain the actual nanoscale resolution.

Setting a Benchmark in 3D Printing

A group of researchers led by Dr. Dmitry Momotenko brought electrochemical 3D printing to the nanoscale level. His team introduced a novel approach for electrochemical AM that can create 3D nanoscale structures in a fully automated approach.

The researchers used minuscule nozzles as small as 1 nanometer in printing tiny 3D metallic structures. Their printing strategy is based on rapid formation and breaking of the meniscus, which allows for controlling the printing process with more precision.

In the experimental setup for electrochemical AM, a print nozzle is filled with an electrolyte solution made of metal precursor ions from copper and a conductive substrate. The nozzle is positioned precisely using an integrated micro- and nanopositioning system. One of the requirements to print complex structures is layer-by-layer deposition. Researchers achieved this demand by fabricating tilted structures and overhanging the parts.

One of the advantages of the nanoprinting technique developed by Momotenko and his colleagues is its ability to control the movement of print nozzles in a feedback mechanism. The procedure allows printing tiny materials layer by layer as fast as a few nanometers per second.

This technique can also be very useful in various areas, such as microelectronics, battery technology, and nanorobotics. Since these areas require electroconductive materials, then metals provide the perfect solution. Aside from fabricating battery materials, Momonteko hopes to apply their discovery in manufacturing sensors that can locate individual molecules. If proven effective, it will be very helpful in the medical field by helping to detect cancer cell markers or biomarkers of Alzheimer's disease.

Three-Dimensional Printing at Nanoscale Level

As additive manufacturing technology becomes a pioneer for many developments in materials science, experts continue to improve 3D applications and printing solutions. Nanoscale 3D printing refers to a technique of printing materials that are only a few billionths of a meter in size. It is now possible to create miniature models of objects in micrometer scales or even smaller ones using the microfabrication technique. In nanoscale 3D printing, photosensitive resins are hardened using light sources.

Conventional 3D printing is used for rapid prototyping and custom design manufacturing at a small scale. However, the resolution control of 3D printing is limited to the microscale, which also limits the ability of 3D printers to customize the alignment of nanoscale particles.