Properties of Al₂O₃ Pastes Using Inorganic Na₂SiO₃ Binder and Organic Binder for Direct Ink Writing

Abstract

The direct ink writing (DIW)‐type 3D printing technology has advantages of manufacturing complicated ceramic objects with short time and low cost. In the DIW, ceramic pastes are extruded through a nozzle. Therefore, rheological properties of ceramic pastes and writing conditions are crucial to obtain desired ceramic objects. Organic binder such as polyvinylpyrrolidone (PVP) and polyvinyl alcohol has been used for ceramic pastes of DIW, however, they involve relatively high material cost (a few hundreds $/kg). On the other hand, inorganic binder Na2SiO3 has much lower material cost than the organic binders (70 $/kg). Herein, the compatibility of the inorganic binder with ceramic paste for DIW is investigated. Line patterns are prepared by using Al2O3‐based paste with inorganic (Na2SiO3) and organic PVP binders by DIW. Same size of line patterns is obtained from both pastes. Also, both line patterns do not peel off after sonication for 30 min, indicating the line patterns are highly stable. Material costs in the inorganic paste are 10% lower than those of the organic paste. Na2SiO3 inorganic binder is a promising binder because of high compatibility with DIW and low cost.

Direct Ink Writing 3D Printing of Graphene/Al2O3 Composite Ceramics with Gradient Mechanics

“…[ 11 ] A new Al 2 O 3 /Na 2 SiO 3 /organic binder ink was developed and prepared for 3D DIW printing to reduce the cost of 3D‐printing materials. [ 12 ] A new Al 2 O 3 composite ceramic was fabricated by 3D‐DIW‐printing method, in which the sintering temperature was investigated in detail for catalytic application. [ 13 ] A Al(H 2 PO 4 )/Al 2 O 3 ceramic with ultralow‐dimensional shrinkage was also prepared by 3D‐DIW‐printing method.…”

3D Printing of Na1.3Al0.3Ti1.7(PO4)3 Solid Electrolyte via Fused Filament Fabrication for All‐Solid‐State Sodium‐Ion Batteries

“…[15] A second drawback is that additional process steps are necessary, such as extensive ball milling, before the ink is used or a post-treatment such as drying or freeze-drying, depending on the ink system used. [13,14,16] Another technique used for 3D printing of a battery or battery components is the Fused Filament Fabrication (FFF) method, in which the battery material is dispersed in a polymer binder system, forming a so-called feedstock, and the 3D printer is fed with the material in the form of a filament. [17] This technique was used within this work.…”

“…However, the ionic conductivities achieved by the DIW printed ionic conductors do not yet reach the ionic conductivity that the material can achieve by conventional means [15] . A second drawback is that additional process steps are necessary, such as extensive ball milling, before the ink is used or a post‐treatment such as drying or freeze‐drying, depending on the ink system used [13,14,16] …”