Researchers at the Department of Energy’s Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory have used 3D printing to create a structure made from liquids. This application of 3D liquids can be used for powering devices and chemical synthesis tools. Faculty scientist at the Berkeley Lab, Tom Russell said this material has the potential to reconfigure and can customize into liquid reaction vessels for uses such as chemical synthesis, ion transport and catalysis, according to GE Report.
These 3D water strands were created by stabilizing thin streams of water that were covered in gold nanoparticles, polymer ligands, water and oil. The scientists also used a 3D printer, in which they reworked to have a syringe and needle. They used the printer to inject the streams into silicone oil which created liquid-within-liquid tubes.
“We can squeeze liquid from a needle, and place threads of water anywhere we want in three dimensions,” said Joe Forth, a postdoctoral researcher who worked on the project, according to GE Reports. “We can also ping the material with an external force, which momentarily breaks the supersoap’s stability and changes the shape of the water threads. The structures are endlessly reconfigurable.”
