CAREER: A Novel Electrically-assisted Multimaterial Printing Approach for Scalable Additive Manufacturing of Bioinspired Heterogeneous Materials Architectures

金属和聚合物在多材料体系结构中的集成在从3D电子学、天线、传感器和致动器到量子科学和超材料等领域得到了广泛的应用。然而，使用传统的微细加工技术，如光刻、沉积和蚀刻，在复杂的3D聚合物对象中制造可图案化的金属结构面临着巨大的挑战。现有的基于添加制造(AM)的3D金属-塑料部件混合工艺存在成本高、时间密集、复杂性和设计灵活性限制等问题。该学院早期职业发展(Career)奖支持研究一种创新的、电子辅助的多媒体AM方法。该项目的成功将使在3D聚合物基质的特定区域中选择性地构建金属化布局成为可能。在标准房间环境中使用单一工艺创建具有复杂图案的多材料建筑将成为可能。教育推广活动将促进多样性，并鼓励少数族裔和代表性不足的学生积极参与令人兴奋的多材料3D打印领域。这个职业项目旨在阐明一种创新的多材料AM技术的加工机制。主要目标是探索通过将可编程电场与光聚合无缝地结合起来，使用单一工艺开发可扩展的制造复杂的准聚合物体系结构。该项目旨在促进对设计模式和电场参数对沉积在聚合物基质表面上的金属结构的分布和形态的复杂影响的科学理解。此外，该项目旨在通过建立界面微结构、表面粗糙度、打印效率和生物启发的准聚合物结构的机械性能之间的相互关联来加深科学理解。本研究将探讨热传导、扩散和印刷溶液化学对金属结构生长的影响。所获得的洞察力将为开发适用于能源、航空航天和热能应用的功能性金属/聚合物体系结构做出重大贡献。预期成果包括全面了解控制复杂金属/聚合物结构制造的潜在机制，为多材料添加剂制造提供理论基础。该奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的智力优势和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

The integration of metal and polymer in a multi-material architecture has found widespread applications in fields ranging from 3D electronics, antennas, sensors, and actuators to quantum science and metamaterials. However, the fabrication of patternable metallic structures within intricate 3D polymer objects using conventional microfabrication techniques such as lithography, deposition, and etching presents formidable challenges. Existing additive manufacturing (AM)-based hybrid processes for 3D metal-plastic components are beset by high cost, time intensiveness, complexity, and constraints on design flexibility. This Faculty Early Career Development (CAREER) award supports research investigating an innovative, electrically-assisted multimaterial AM approach. Success of this project will enable selective construction of metalized layouts in specific regions of a 3D polymer matrix. The creation of multi-material architectures with complex patterns using a singular process in a standard room environment will become possible. Educational outreach activities will foster diversity and encourage the active participation of minority and underrepresented students in the exciting realm of multi-material 3D printing.This CAREER project aims to elucidate the processing mechanism of an innovative multimaterial AM technique. The primary goal is to explore development of scalable manufacturing intricate meta-polymer architectures using a single process by seamlessly integrating programmable electrical fields with photopolymerization. This project seeks to advance scientific comprehension of the intricate impact of design patterns and parameters of electrical fields on the distribution and morphology of deposited metallic structures onto a polymer matrix's surface. In addition, this project aims to deepen scientific understanding by establishing interconnected correlations among interfacial microstructures, surface roughness, printing efficiency, and the mechanical performance of the bioinspired meta-polymer architectures. This research will investigate the influences of thermal conduction, diffusion, and printing solution chemistry on the growth of metallic architectures. The acquired insights are poised to contribute significantly to the development of functional metal/polymer architectures applicable across energy, aerospace, and thermal applications. Anticipated outcomes include a comprehensive understanding of the underlying mechanisms governing the fabrication of complex metallic/polymer structures, providing a theoretical foundation for multimaterial additive manufacturing.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.