Although three-dimensional (3D) printing has recently emerged as a technology to potentially bring about the next industrial revolution, the limited selection of usable materials restricts its use to simple prototyping. In particular, metallic 3D printing with submicrometer spatial resolution is essential for the realization of 3D-printed electronics. Herein, a meniscus-guided 3D printing method that exploits a low-viscosity (∼7 mPa·s) silver nanoparticle (AgNP) ink meniscus with Newtonian fluid characteristics (which is compatible with conventional inkjet printers) to fabricate 3D silver microarchitectures is reported. Poly(acrylic acid)-capped AgNP ink that exhibits a continuous ink flow through a confined nozzle without aggregation is designed in this study. Guiding the ink meniscus with controlled direction and speed enables both vertical pulling and layer-by-layer processing, resulting in the creation of 3D microobjects with designed shapes other than those for simple wiring. Various highly conductive (>104 S·cm-1) 3D metallic patterns are demonstrated for applications in electronic devices. This research is expected to widen the range of materials that can be employed in 3D printing technology, with the aim of moving 3D printing beyond prototyping and into real manufacturing platforms for future electronics.
Keywords: 3D printing; 3D-printed electronics; Newtonian fluid ink; meniscus-guided printing; silver microarchitecture.