Geometry effect on the photocatalytic properties of LCD 3D-printed TiO2-based nanocomposites

The incorporation of titanium dioxide (TiO) nanoparticles into polymeric materials offers exciting prospects for the development of macroscopic photocatalytic structures for water and air purification systems. The focus of this paper is to address the following questions: Is it feasible to produce these structures using Liquid Crystal Display (LCD) 3D printing technology? Secondly, can specific geometric designs influence the photocatalytic activity of these innovative devices? To this purpose, the 3D printability of TiO based nanocomposites and their photocatalytic performance were explored specifically on the aforementioned focus. Resin formulations containing different TiO concentrations (2.5 wt.%, 5 wt.%, 10 wt.%) were prepared and optimized for printability. Characterization through cure depth measurements, ATR-FTIR spectroscopy, thermogravimetric analysis (TGA), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDX) confirmed effective photopolymerization, thermal stability, and uniform nanoparticle dispersion. Three distinct geometries, gyroid, lattice, and wheel, were designed and printed to assess their influence on the photocatalytic degradation of methylene blue under UV irradiation. As revealed by UV light measurements, the gyroid structure showed the highest degradation efficiency, attributed to its complex architecture and increased intralayer surfaces enhancing TiO localization. These findings demonstrate that by tailoring both material formulation and geometry, it is possible to boost the performance of 3D-printed photocatalytic devices for environmental applications.