UV-curable inorganic precursors enable direct 3D printing of SiOC ceramics

3D ceramic parts are of great interest for various applications including aerospace, defense, electronics, photonics, and biomedical. Yet, additive manufacturing of ceramics is challenging due to their poor machinability. Herein, two approaches based on the chemical modification of silicon resins to obtain UV-curable preceramic precursors of SiOC are described. The dual functionality of the synthesized resins acting both as preceramic precursor and as photopolymerizable entity under UV light is exploited. A set of characterization techniques has allowed the investigation of the mechanisms involved in the synthesis of the inorganic SiOC precursors according to the following approaches: (1) blend of the silicon resin with photoactive monomers and (2) synthesis of a single source UV-curable preceramic silicon resin. A correlation between the nature of the precursor and the properties of the derived SiOC is analyzed. From a technological point of view, the materials can be fabricated as dense or crack-free porous customized objects with low mass loss and optimal surface quality.