Our study emphasizes tailoring ceramic suspensions for optimizing the 3D printability of Digital Light Processing (DLP) 3D printing. Barium titanate (BTO) has emerged as an eco-friendly piezoelectric ceramic alternative to lead titanates. Utilizing DLP, an advanced 3D printing method, we can fabricate complex 3D-printed ceramic architectures. In contrast to pure resin suspension, one of the most significant issues in ceramic DLP printing is the poor layer-by-layer adhesion owing to reduced photocuring. In this work, we control BTO ceramic particle sizes and additives for optimal ceramic suspension, leading to improved rheological properties, increased packing density, and reduced light scattering. Furthermore, the final ceramics exhibit enhanced dielectric and ferroelectric properties after heat-treating the 3D-printed green bodies using specifically designed profiles for de-binding and sintering. These optimized 3D-printed BTO architectures show potential for self-powered sensing, energy harvesting, and ultrasound transducers applications.
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