A research team from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem has developed a novel method for 3D printing glass that completely eliminates the use of organic binders and the need for extreme heat treatment after printing. Published in Materials Today, the study demonstrates how to directly fabricate intricate silica-glass structures—the fundamental building block of traditional glass—quickly and with high precision.

While 3D printing of plastics and metals has become widespread in industry and research, glass printing has remained a major challenge. Conventional methods rely on organic additives to stabilize the printed structure, which must then be burned out at very high temperatures. That process often leads to distortion, cracking, and degradation of the material’s optical and mechanical properties.

The new approach uses a liquid solution of “glass precursors”—the molecular ingredients that form glass—containing a light-sensitive compound. When the printer’s laser beam strikes a targeted region, it triggers a localized change in pH that causes the direct formation of silica. In effect, light itself becomes the sculptor, shaping the glass layer by layer without adhesives or complex post-processing.

After printing, the object is rinsed in ethanol, dried using a supercritical process that prevents pore collapse, and then gently heated to about 250 °C—far lower than typical glass-processing temperatures. The result is a porous, semi-transparent glass that can be produced in intricate geometries previously impossible with conventional techniques.

The method’s potential applications are wide-ranging. In optics, it could enable custom micro-lenses and light-guiding structures. In biomedical engineering, it could allow the printing of porous glass scaffolds, implants, and microfluidic devices for studying cells and materials at microscopic scales. And because the process requires no extreme heat, temperature-sensitive materials such as organic molecules, fluorescent dyes, and active electronic components can be embedded directly into the glass—something that was previously unachievable.

Professor Magdassi notes: “Glass is one of humanity’s oldest materials, yet this method brings it into the era of precision, customized, and clean manufacturing—where materials are designed for function, not limited by how they’re made.”

[Image credit: Amir Reizinger]