Straightforward Manufacturing of 3D-Printed Metallic Structures toward Customized Electrical Components

Abstract

Metalizing three-dimensional (3D)-printed polymers hasbeen spotlightedin the field of manufacturing high-end and customized electrical components.Conventional metalization approaches that rely on the electrolessplating (ELP) process typically require the use of noble metal-basedcatalysts or involve multistep processes, limiting their practicalapplications. Herein, we propose a straightforward yet effective approachto manufacture 3D-printed polymers with conductive metal layers througha thiol-mediated ELP process without involving an additional catalyticactivation process. A photocurable ternary resin based on thiol-ene-acrylatemonomers was precisely designed to induce excess thiol moieties onthe surface of 3D-printed structures. These exposed thiol moietiesserved as active sites for metal ion complexion via strong metal-sulfurbonds, allowing the deposition of metal layers on the 3D-printed polymersthrough the ELP. Diverse metal layers, including Cu, Ag, and NiP,could be deposited onto virtually any 3D-printed structures with highuniformity and adhesion stability. To highlight the potential applicationof our approach, we fabricated fully functional glucose sensors throughthe deposition of the Cu layer on 3D-printed electrode models, andthese sensors displayed excellent nonenzymatic glucose sensing performance.The proposed approach offers great insights for designing functionalmetallic structures and opens up new avenues for manufacturing lightweight,customized electrical components.