Optimization of a high-performance photocurable slurry for DLP printing preparation of Al2O3 ceramic substrates via molecular dynamics simulation
Wei Xiong, Daoyuan Yang, Ziping Li, Liangyi Zeng, Mingxuan Hao, Huiyu Yuan, Junyan Cui, Haoxuan Ma, Yongliang Liu, Yarui Pan
Abstract
This paper presents a method based on molecular dynamics (MD) for formulating high-performance photocurable slurries. The cross-linking curing process of the photocured slurry was simulated using MD techniques. Key parameters such as curing shrinkage, Young's modulus , and shear viscosity were calculated to develop a photosensitive resin characterized by low shrinkage, a high Young's modulus of 4.12 GPa, and a low viscosity (0.29 cP at 1 ps −1 ). The formulation comprised 45 wt% bisphenol A type epoxy propyl ester (EA), 5 wt% polyurethane propyl ester (PUA), 27 wt% dipropylene glycol diacrylate (DPGDA), 11.5 wt% tripropylene glycol diacrylate (TPGDA), and 11.5 wt% trimethylolpropane triacrylate (TMPTA). The experimental validation results were in good agreement with the simulation results. Building on these findings, Al 2 O 3 ceramic substrates with up to 82 wt% solid content were prepared using digital light processing (DLP), revealing that the properties of the samples improved with increasing solid content. The samples exhibited remarkable characteristics, including a density of 3.75 g/cm 3 , porosity of 1.71 %, flexural strength of 231.14 MPa, thermal conductivity of 24.54 W/(m·K), a dielectric constant (εr) of 11.1, and a dielectric loss (tanδ) of 6.07 × 10^ −4 when sintered at 1650°C. This study offers theoretical and experimental insights for selecting photosensitive resins in multifunctional complex ceramic slurries and the design of future light-curable composites.