YOKOHAMA NATIONAL UNIVERSITY, YOKOHAMA, JAPAN. Researchers have recently developed a new material that can be easily molded into highly conductive 3D structures for various applications. Although there are several materials available in the market that work best to create complex 3D structures, most resins cannot withstand the carbonization process.

The carbonization process is an important stage in the electrode preparation process wherein the resin is baked at a temperature that is so high that it could turn the resin’s surface to carbon. The baking process or the carbonizing stage is necessary to make the resin a good electrode as it increases the conductivity of the resin. At the same time, the charring process increases the surface area of the resin.

Currently, the baking process is the stage where the shape of commercially available resins gets destroyed as it cannot stand the high temperature. This is when the newly developed light-sensitive resin becomes more useful. This new resin can be used for modern 3D shaping techniques and at the same time, it has been proven to survive the charring process that other commercially available resins cannot withstand. The new resin includes a material called Resorcinol Diglycidyl Ether (RDGE) which is normally used dilute other types of resins. It is also in a liquid state which makes it even more suitable for manipulation with the use of modern 3D sculpting methods.

To test the new resin, the researchers tried creating pyramids, discs and the well-known “Stanford Bunny”. The “Stanford Bunny” is a shape that is more popularly used in 3D modeling and computer graphics. After successfully creating the complex 3D shapes, the researchers charred the resins to test its capability to survive the carbonization stage. They were very pleased when the resins kept their shapes in high temperature.

Yuya Daicho from Yokohama National University headed the research team. With the creation of this new resin, there will be greater flexibility in designing electrodes for specialized purposes soon.

For their next study, the team of researchers will try to char the new resin at temperatures above 800 degrees Celsius to test its maximum capability. The resin could get destroyed at that temperature. If it doesn’t, there is a chance that it will turn the surface into graphite which is a higher-quality conductor than the carbonized surface.