New Publication in the Journal of the European Ceramic Society

We are proud to share that our young researcher Dr. Mokhtar Mahmoud from Glass Processing Dpt. and his team have published their latest work in the Journal of the European Ceramic Society:

“Additive manufacturing of scaffolds from porous glass microspheres via masked stereolithography: Printing challenges and sustainable applications.”

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jeurceramsoc.2025.117651

For the first time, the team successfully demonstrated the 3D printing of porous glass microsphere scaffolds using masked stereolithography (MSLA). This breakthrough introduces a novel method for fabricating highly porous materials by overcoming key challenges of particle aggregation and sedimentation.

The study highlights how porous glass microspheres coated with polyethylene glycol (PEG) can be combined with photocurable resin to maintain slurry stability. Using this approach, scaffolds with 90% open porosity and diamond-shaped cellular structures were fabricated. By further incorporating titania nanoparticles, the researchers created composite structures with photocatalytic activity, achieving complete (100%) photodegradation of methylene blue dye — a significant step forward in sustainable water remediation.

This innovative research not only demonstrates the potential of additive manufacturing to create advanced functional materials, but also showcases a sustainable pathway to repurpose discarded glass for environmental applications.

The work is the result of a fruitful collaboration between the FunGlass Centre, Slovakia (Dr. J. Kraxner, Dr. M. Michálek, dr. B. Pecušová, Prof. D. Galusek) the University of Padova, Italy (Dr. H. Elsayed, Prof. E. Bernardo) Universität Ulm, (Dr. M.Anjass. Dr. N. Arya)

Congratulations to Mokhtar Mahmoud and the entire team for this achievement, and sincere thanks to our partners for their excellent collaboration!