Metallic microlattice

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A block of metallic microlattice being supported by a dandelion seed head.

A metallic microlattice is a synthetic porous metallic material consisting of an ultra-

light metal foam. With a density as low as 0.9 mg/cm3(0.00561 lb/ft3), it is one of the lightest
structural materials known to science.[1] It was developed by a team of scientists
from California-based HRL Laboratories, in collaboration with researchers at University of
California, Irvine and Caltech, and was first announced in November 2011. The prototype
samples were made from a nickel-phosphorus alloy.[2] In 2012, the microlattice prototype
was declared one of 10 World-Changing Innovations by Popular Mechanics.[3] Metallic
microlattice technology has numerous potential applications in automotive and aeronautical
engineering.[4] A detailed comparative review study among other types of metallic lattice
structures showed them to be beneficial for light-weighting purposes but expensive to
manufacture.[5]

Contents

 1Synthesis
 2Properties
 3Applications
 4Similar materials
 5References
 6External links

Synthesis[edit]
To produce their metallic microslattice, the HRL/UCI/Caltech team first prepared
a polymer template using a technique based on self-
propagating waveguide formation,[6][7] though it was noted that other methods can be used
to fabricate the template.[8] The process passed UV light through a perforated mask into a
reservoir of UV-curable resin. Fiber-optic-like "self-trapping" of the light occurred as the
resin cured under each hole in the mask, forming a thin polymer fiber along the path of the
light. By using multiple light beams, multiple fibers could then interconnect to form a lattice.
The process was similar to photolithography in that it used a two-dimensional mask to
define the starting template structure, but differed in the rate of formation:
where stereolithography might take hours to make a full structure, the self-forming
waveguide process allowed templates to be formed in 10–100 seconds. In this way, the
process enables large free-standing 3D lattice materials to be formed quickly and scalably.
The template was then coated with a thin layer of metal by electroless nickel plating, and
the template is etched away, leaving a free-standing, periodic porous metallic structure.
Nickel was used as the microlattice metal in the original report. Owing to the
electrodeposition process, 7% of the material consisted of dissolved phosphorus atoms,
and it contained no precipitates.[8]

Properties[edit]
A metallic microslattice is composed of a network of interconnecting hollow struts. In the
least-dense microlattice sample reported, each strut is about 100 micrometres in diameter,
with a wall 100 nanometres thick. The completed structure is about 99.99% air by
volume,[2] and by convention, the mass of air is excluded when the microlattice density is
calculated.[8] Allowing for the mass of the interstitial air, the true density of the structure is
approximately 2.1 mg/cm3 (2.1 kg/m3), which is only about 1.76 times the density of air itself
at 25 °C. The material is described as being 100 times lighter than Styrofoam.[9]
Metallic microlattices are characterized by very low densities, with the 2011 record of
0.9 mg/cm3 being among the lowest values of any known solid. The previous record of
1.0 mg/cm3 was held by silica aerogels, and aerographite is claimed to have a density of
0.2 mg/cm3.[10] Mechanically, these microlattices are behaviorally similar to elastomers and
almost completely recover their shape after significant compression.[11] This gives them a
significant advantage over earlier aerogels, which are brittle, glass-like substances. This
elastomeric property in metallic microlattices furthermore results in efficient shock
absorption. Their Young's modulus E exhibits different scaling, with the density ρ, E ~ ρ2,
compared to E ~ ρ3 in aerogels and carbon nanotube foams.[8]

Applications[edit]
Metallic microlattice may find potential applications as thermal and vibration insulators such
as shock absorbers, and may also prove useful as battery electrodes and catalyst
supports.[8] Additionally, the microlattices' ability to return to their original state after being
compressed may make them suitable for use in spring-like energy storage
devices.[2]Automotive and aeronautical manufacturers are using microlattice technology to
develop extremely lightweight and efficient structures that combine multiple functions, such
as structural reinforcement and heat transfer, into single components for high-performance
vehicles.[4]

Similar materials[edit]
A similar but denser material, consisting of an electrodeposited nanocrystalline nickel layer
over a polymeric rapid-prototyped truss, was created by researchers at the University of
Toronto in 2008.[12] In 2012, German researchers created a carbon foam known
as aerographite, with an even lower density than a metallic microlattice.[13] In 2013, Chinese
scientists developed a carbon-based aerogel which was claimed to be lighter still.[1]
Tube-based nanostructures are similar structures on a smaller scale.

References[edit]
1. ^ Jump up to:a b "In pictures: Ultra-light material". BBC. 9 April 2013. Retrieved 1 July 2013.
2. ^ Jump up to:a b c "Metallic microlattice 'lightest structure ever'". Chemistry World. 17
November 2011. Archived from the original on 21 November 2011. Retrieved 21
November 2011.
3. Jump up^ Sterling, Robert (29 October 2012). "The world's lightest material".
Boeing. Archivedfrom the original on 2 November 2012. Retrieved 2 November 2012.
4. ^ Jump up to:a b "MICROLATTICE: HOW REVOLUTIONARY METALLIC STRUCTURES
ARE BENEFITING GLOBAL MANUFACTURERS". Institution of Mechanical Engineers. 28
February 2013. Archived from the original on 25 February 2015. Retrieved 25
February2015.
5. Jump up^ Rashed, M.G.; Ashraf, Mahmud; Mines, R.A.W.; Hazell, Paul J. (2016). "Metallic
microlattice materials: A current state of the art on manufacturing, mechanical properties
and applications". Materials & Design. 95: 518–533. doi:10.1016/j.matdes.2016.01.146.
6. Jump up^ Jacobsen, A.J.; Barvosa-Carter, W.B.; Nutt, S. (2007). "Micro-scale Truss
Structures formed from Self-Propagating Photopolymer Waveguides". Advanced
Materials. 19 (22): 3892–3896. doi:10.1002/adma.200700797.
7. Jump up^ US patent 7382959, Alan J. Jacobsen, "Optically oriented three-dimensional
polymer microstructures", assigned to HRL Laboratories, LLC.
8. ^ Jump up to:a b c d e Schaedler, T. A.; Jacobsen, A. J.; Torrents, A.; Sorensen, A. E.; Lian,
J.; Greer, J. R.; Valdevit, L.; Carter, W. B. (12 October 2011). "Ultralight Metallic
Microlattices". Science. 334 (6058): 962–
5. Bibcode:2011Sci...334..962S. doi:10.1126/science.1211649. PMID 22096194.
9. Jump up^ "World's 'lightest material' unveiled by US engineers". BBC News. 18 November
2011. Retrieved 25 November 2011.
10. Jump up^ "New carbon nanotube struructure aerographite is lightest material champ".
Phys.org. 13 July 2012. Retrieved 14 July 2012.
11. Jump up^ Stephen Shankland (18 November 2011). "Breakthrough material is barely more
than air". CNET. Retrieved 26 April 2013.
12. Jump up^ Gordon, L.M.; Bouwhuis, B.A.; Suralvo, M.; McCrea, J.L.; Palumbo, G.; Hibbard,
G.D. (2009). "Micro-truss nanocrystalline Ni hybrids". Acta Materialia. 57: 932–
939. doi:10.1016/j.actamat.2008.10.038.
13. Jump up^ "Aerographit: Forscher entwickeln leichtestes Leichtgewicht". Der Spiegel (in
German). 11 July 2012. Retrieved 1 July 2013.