Doctoral student Natalie Yaw came to Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) as a summer intern. But when her time at the Laboratory ended, her work did not. She took the lead to write a paper based on her findings, and the result was published in Inorganic Chemistry Frontiers.
As a Department of Energy Nuclear Energy University Program fellow, Yaw chose to intern at LLNL because of its materials research capabilities. Her publication explores hydrogel-infused additive manufacturing (HIAM) of ceramics, which are essential materials in industries like aerospace because of their high thermal stability, chemical resistance and mechanical strength. In particular, 3D-printed ceramics offer design flexibility, reduce material waste, accelerate production and support tailored applications.
To address challenges associated with traditional ceramic manufacturing, HIAM separates the printing step from the ceramic material. The process starts with a viscous orange resin, which is used to 3D print an initial gel. That gel is converted into a hydrogel via a few processes, including infusion with a metal salt solution. From there, much like the firing of traditional ceramics, the hydrogel is heated to burn off organic components and convert the metal salts into metal oxides.
The study shows that the hydrogel formulation and the type of metal salts both play key roles in determining the ceramic's quality, density, porosity and strength. By evaluating the impacts of these precursors, the work provides valuable insights for optimizing ceramic quality and shape, creates a foundation for expanding HIAM to new materials and applications, and addresses a knowledge gap in the HIAM space.
Throughout this research, Yaw found the collaborative environment and wide-ranging expertise at LLNL to be an asset.
"I had several 'aha' moments when talking to people in different disciplines who had completely different perspectives on my work and ideas I would never have considered," she said. "It really highlighted the importance of interdisciplinary collaboration."
Yaw worked closely with LLNL research scientist Maryline Kerlin on the project.
"This was Natalie's first experience as a lead author, and together we navigated the challenges of writing, revising and addressing feedback, including conducting additional experiments to strengthen the paper," said Kerlin. "I believe her story reflects the incredible opportunities LLNL provides for young scientists."
Yaw will soon start the final year of her Ph.D. program and is interested in pursuing science policy. She advises anyone curious about an internship at LLNL to reach out directly to the scientists in their field of interest.
