Transparent photocurable Pickering emulsion for improving printing resolution of porous silica components

Abstract

An interparticle photo-crosslinkable Pickering emulsion with a high transparency was prepared to improve the printing resolution of porous silica components when using the digital light processing (DLP) approach. A transparent photocurable Pickering emulsion was obtained by vigorously mixing a mixture of isopropyl myristate (IPM) and turpentine oil into a dimethyl sulfoxide aqueous suspension of silica particles in which small amounts of diacrylate monomers and photo-radical initiator were pre-dissolved. Pickering emulsions with a high linear transmittance were prepared by adjusting the refractive indices of the continuous and dispersed phases to be close to that of silica particles by adjusting the solvent mixing ratio. The effects of the in-line transmittance of the Pickering emulsions on the curing depth and overcuring behavior of the photocured bodies were evaluated. The improved in-line transmittance was found to help suppress light scattering during the photocuring process, resulting in a higher printing resolution compared with the use of opaque Pickering emulsions.