2026-03-17 カリフォルニア工科大学（Caltech）
A scanning electron microscope (SEM) image of a cross-section of a nickel octahedral nano-lattice generated using the new additive technique. Yellow arrows indicate large voids in the structure. The zoomed-in view (right) highlights a few nodes with concentrated porosity. Despite these defects, the nano-achitected materials show surprising strength.Credit: Greer Lab/Caltech
＜関連情報＞
- https://www.caltech.edu/about/news/engineering-tiny-3d-metallic-parts
- https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-026-69845-8#citeas
ナノ多孔性によって駆動される、積層造形されたナノ構造金属の変形 Nanoporosity-driven deformation of additively manufactured nano-architected metals
Wenxin Zhang,Zhi Li,Huajian Gao & Julia R. Greer
Nature Communications Published:28 February 2026
DOI:https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-026-69845-8 Unedited version
Abstract
3D printing methods for small-scale metals enable a unique 10–100 nm dimensional niche where functional feature sizes, critical microstructural detail and atomic-level defects converge, challenging conventional hierarchical relationships and carrying significant nanomechanical implications. We introduce a metal nano-printing system combining two-photon lithography, hydrogel infusion-based additive manufacturing and in situ mechanical experiments on 3D nano-architected Ni, achieving ~100 nm critical dimensions, ~10 nm surface roughness, and a broad range of geometries (periodic vs. non-periodic; beam-based vs. shell-based) with superior specific strengths of ~100 MPa·g − 1·cm3 enabled by an unambiguous smaller is stronger size effect. Experiments identify concentrated-porosity regions as primary deformation-initiation sources and quantify their distribution as input for physics-informed, multiscale finite-element simulations that accurately predict size-dependent mechanical properties governed by nanoporosity-driven deformation. This work integrates experimental and computational approaches for the fabrication, characterization, and evaluation of nano- and micro-architected metals for nanotechnology and nanoscale manufacturing systems.
