Natural materials are composed of a limited number of molecular building blocks and their exceptional properties are governed by their hierarchical structure. However, this level of precision is unattainable with current state-of-the-art materials for 3D printing. Herein, new self-assembled printable materials based on block copolymers (BCPs) enabling precise control of the nanostructure in 3D are presented. In particular, well-defined BCPs consisting of poly(styrene) (PS) and a polymethacrylate-based copolymer decorated with printable units are selected as suitable self-assembled materials and synthesized using controlled radical polymerization. The synthesized library of BCPs are utilized as printable formulations for the fabrication of complex 3D microstructures using two-photon laser printing. By fine-tuning the BCP composition and solvent in the formulations, the fabrication of precise 3D nano-ordered structures is demonstrated for the first time. A key point of this work is the achievement of controlled nano-order within the entire 3D structures. Thus, imaging of the cross-sections of the 3D printed samples is performed, enabling the visualization also from the inside. The presented versatile approach is expected to create new avenues for the precise design of functional polymer materials suitable for high-resolution 3D printing exhibiting tailor-made nanostructures.
Keywords: 3D printing; block polymers; direct laser writing; self-assembly; two-photon polymerization.
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