Direct Ink Writing of micrometric SiOC ceramic structures using a preceramic polymer

In this work we manufactured micro-sized SiOC ceramic components by 3D printing (Direct Ink Writing) of a preceramic polymer. Model porous ceramic scaffolds with the lateral dimension of a few millimeters and composed of a continuous ceramic filament ∼120 μm thick were produced, and a suitable rheological behavior was obtained by mixing cross-linked preceramic particles with a siloxane resin dissolved in a solvent. The addition of a low amount (0.025-0.1 wt%) of graphene oxide to the ink formulation further improves the structural stability during pyrolysis reducing the shrinkage of the preceramic polymer. Upon pyrolysis at low temperature (1000 °C), graphene oxide converted into graphene. The resulting scaffolds possess a good compression strength, of ∼2.5 MPa for a total porosity of ∼64 vol% (∼3.1 MPa after the addition of 0.1 wt% graphene oxide).