Llamas-Unzueta Raúl, Reguera-García Alejandro, Montes-Morán Miguel A, Angel Menéndez J
Instituto de Ciencia y Tecnología del Carbono, INCAR-CSIC, c/Francisco Pintado Fe 26, Oviedo, 33011, Spain.
Sci Rep. 2025 Jan 13;15(1):1881. doi: 10.1038/s41598-024-84976-y.
In addition to the inherent limitations of carbons to melt or flow, a vast majority of carbon precursors deforms during carbonisation, with stereolithography of thermoset resins being the preferred technology for 3D printing of carbons. An alternative is now presented with the possibility of using a melting-based technology, selective laser sintering (SLS), to fabricate 3D structures that withstand carbonisation. The key factor that makes this happen is whey powder, a natural, abundant and cheap by-product of the dairy industry. When heating the whey powder with a laser at 180-200 ºC for a few seconds, whey particles sinter, and 3D structures are obtained layer-by-layer. Carbonisation of the sintered whey structures brings about 3D porous carbons with excellent mechanical properties that preserve the SLS printed form albeit an isotropic shrinkage (approx. 23%). Melanoidins are identified as responsible for both the sintering and the thermoset behaviour during carbonisation of the whey powder.
除了碳本身存在难以熔化或流动的局限性外，绝大多数碳前驱体在碳化过程中会发生变形，因此热固性树脂的立体光刻技术是碳材料3D打印的首选技术。现在有了另一种选择，即可以使用基于熔化的技术——选择性激光烧结（SLS）来制造能够承受碳化过程的3D结构。实现这一目标的关键因素是乳清粉，它是乳制品行业天然、丰富且廉价的副产品。当用激光在180 - 200 ºC下加热乳清粉几秒钟时，乳清颗粒会烧结在一起，从而逐层获得3D结构。烧结后的乳清结构碳化后会形成具有优异机械性能的3D多孔碳，尽管会有各向同性收缩（约23%），但仍能保持SLS打印的形状。黑色素被认为是乳清粉碳化过程中烧结和热固性行为的原因。
