Enhancement of curing depth of photopolymer resins used in 3D printing via near-infrared light induced upconversion

Feb23Wed

Enhancement of curing depth of photopolymer resins used in 3D printing via near-infrared light induced upconversion

Wed, 23/02/2022 - 14:00 to 15:00

Location:

Speaker: 
Dr. Adilet Zhakeyev
Synopsis: 

Photopolymer resins used in stereolithographic 3D printing are limited to penetration depths of a few millimetres, which results in slow fabrication times. The approach used in this seminar, explores the use of near-infrared (NIR) to ultraviolet-blue upconversion emissions from submicron and nanoscale phosphors to initiate monomer crosslinking at a much higher depth. This concept relies on the use of invisibility windows and non-linear optical effects to achieve selective crosslinking in photopolymers. The NIR light penetrates into the bulk of the resin to a desired depth, where the optical conversion into UV/blue light happens. This opens a myriad of possibilities: to create samples with different materials, to 3D print objects from a material inside of cavities in a different material, to repair broken objects…

Biography: 

Dr. Adilet Zhakeyev is a Postdoctoral Research Associate (PDRA), conducting research at Institute of Signals, Sensors and Systems (ISSS) at Heriot-Watt University, working on developing new manufacturing methods for multimaterial and multicolour photopolymer 3D printing, under the guidance of Dr. Jose Marques-Hueso. Adilet received his M.Eng. degree in Chemical Engineering from the University College London (UCL) in 2015, followed by completion of a PhD degree focused on additive manufacturing of photo-active reactors for solar energy harvesting at Loughborough University in 2020.

Institute: