Direct
ink writing (DIW) three-dimensional (3D) printing provides
a revolutionary approach to fabricating components with gradients
in material properties. Herein, we report a method for generating
colloidal germania feedstock and germania–silica inks for the
production of optical quality germania–silica (GeO2–SiO2) glasses by DIW, making available a new material
composition for the development of multimaterial and functionally
graded optical quality glasses and ceramics by additive manufacturing.
Colloidal germania and silica particles are prepared by a base-catalyzed
sol–gel method and converted to printable shear-thinning suspensions
with desired viscoelastic properties for DIW. The volatile solvents
are then evaporated, and the green bodies are calcined and sintered
to produce transparent, crack-free glasses. Chemical and structural
evolution of GeO2–SiO2 glasses is confirmed
by nuclear magnetic resonance, X-ray diffraction, and Raman spectroscopy.
UV–vis transmission and optical homogeneity measurements reveal
comparable performance of the 3D printed GeO2–SiO2 glasses to glasses produced using conventional approaches
and improved performance over 3D printed TiO2–SiO2 inks. Moreover, because GeO2–SiO2 inks are compatible with DIW technology, they offer exciting options
for forming new materials with patterned compositions such as gradients
in the refractive index that cannot be achieved with conventional
manufacturing approaches.