3D printing of functional materials

The advent of 3D printing is revolutionizing the word as we see it. 3D printing is not only about plastic ware. Today concrete homes, sugar cakes and even human organs can be 3D printed. In our research group we are pioneering the use of 3D printing to create perfectly ordered porous media for a myriad of uses in process engineering, e.g. in separations, catalysis, filtration, etc. with specific focus on high resolution 3D printing (at micron level) to reconstruct the fine pore features in the material.

In particular, this PhD project will focus on 3D printing of functional materials such as chemically active materials (3D printed catalysts and adsorbers), conductive materials (3D printed electrodes), and materials with controllable nanostructure (3D printed filters). The materials developed needs to be suitable stereo lithography printing. In this technique, the parts are 3D printed from a liquid resin which is selectively cured layer by layer using a specialized UV projector. The specific area of the PhD project will be determined accordingly to project needs as well as the candidate skills and preference.

Institute for Bioengineering: https://www.eng.ed.ac.uk/research/institutes/ibioe