Plasma-digital nexus: plasma nanotechnology for the digital manufacturing age

Abstract

Digital transformation in manufacturing is one of the key megatrends in the development of global economy and society. Three-dimensional (3D) printing is a transformative digital technology poised to disrupt manufacturing and supply chains across major industries. Here we critically examine relevant insights into current and emerging applications of plasma nanotechnology in printing, including 3D printing. Plasma devices operated at atmospheric pressure coupled with printing processes may help strengthen 3D printing as an emerging fabrication technology that morphs diverse metal powders, polymers, plastics and other materials into digitally designed 3D shapes and patterns. We discuss how plasma applications may help overcome current limitations of 3D printing in various fields, e.g. limitations of sculpting composite materials, lack of mechanical strength and the need for postprocessing. Our key focus is on the challenges, opportunities and physical mechanisms of the use of 3D printing in nano-manufacturing, defined as the fabrication of nanoscale building blocks, such as nanoparticles and nanomaterials; their assembly into higher-order (micro-scale) structures; and the integration of these structures into larger (macro-) scale devices and systems by controlling energy and matter at nanoscale. Moreover, we discuss the physico-chemical mechanisms that result in highlyconformal deposition of nanostructured materials onto 3D surfaces with microscopic (and possibly nanoscale) control of textures and inter-layer cross-linking, without the need for additional heating. We further highlight the arising opportunities for plasma nanotechnology to synergize with the emerging digital transformation platforms in surface micro-and nano-structuring using polymers, metals, metallic alloys, and other materials. These new findings in plasma-digital nanoscale fabrication may lead to a new digital manufacturing platform suitable for a number of cutting-edge applications in electronic, sensing and energy devices.

Plasmas for additive manufacturing

“…There is now increasing interest to incorporate plasmas in additive methods because of their key advantages for materials processing. [ 11 ] Perhaps most importantly, the non‐equilibrium physicochemical environment enables processes to be performed near room temperature, which is critical for materials central to additive manufacturing such as plastics, paper, and biomaterials. A much wider and more complex range of surface processes than thermal treatment can also be carried out.…”

Plasma medicine: Opportunities for nanotechnology in a digital age

“…This includes improvements in the mechanical properties of polymeric materials by the combination of plasmas and polymer‐based 3D printing, and the use of thermal plasmas in the synthesis of metal alloys and ceramics in a nanoparticulate form. [ 48 ] Moreover, we also note here that the plasma process offers more sustainable approaches for 3D printing and nanoparticle synthesis, because it is an environment‐friendly and cost‐effective technology, eliminating requirements for chemical pretreatments or harmful solvents.…”

“…Compared with, for example, solid‐material milling, AM is more time‐ and cost‐effective and offers increased versatility with respect to design limits, manufacturing and raw materials. AM, therefore, can accelerate growth and innovation in the traditionally linear and time‐consuming manufacturing processes, [ 47,48 ] thus changing the future technological landscape. [ 44 ]…”

“…An advantage of the microplasma printing process is that it can support roll‐to‐roll continuous plasma processing on a flexible polymer film for manufacturing at an industry‐relevant scale. [ 48 ] As mentioned in Section 3.2, it is possible to combine the capability of plasma coating with 3D printing into a single system, which could be useful for virtually an endless number of possible applications. One such application includes the manufacture of bone tissue implant materials.…”

“…In this example, a plasma jet system was used to chemically functionalise the interior and exterior surfaces of implants with a cell growth‐promoting coating. [ 48,51 ] We envisage that similar implantable materials could be obtained in the future using 3D plasma printing technologies in a single process (as opposed to chemical functionalisation of prefabricated materials).…”