A. Isaakidou; M. Ganjian; V. Moosabeiki; M.A. Leeflang; M.N. Goushki; P.E. Boukany; M. Wątroba; A. Groetsch; J. Schwiedrzik; M.J. Mirzaali; I. Apachitei
Advanced Engineering Materials 27 (2025) e202500977
Two-photon polymerization (2PP) is an additive manufacturing technology
capable of producing polymeric 3D nano- to mesoscale structures with design
flexibility and sub-micron resolution. This study investigates the influence of2PP
printing parameters on the morphology and mechanical properties of solid
and porous microstructures fabricated from three commercial resins: IP-Q, IP-S,
and IP-polydimethylsiloxane (IP-PDMS). To evaluate micromechanical behavior,
micropillar compression tests are conducted using IP-Q, which has not been
extensively characterized. Porous structures retained 80–85% of the stiffness
of solids for IP-Q and IP-S, and 50% for IP-PDMS. Fourier transform infrared
spectroscopy showed degrees of conversion of 38% for IP-Q and 61% for
IP-S and IP-PDMS. The optimal printing parameters for IP-Q micropillars
were a laser power of 50 mW, slicing distance (s) of 1.2 μm, and hatching
distance (h) of 1 μm. These settings correspond to a peak laser intensity of
1.58 10 11 Wcm 2, a focal spot diameter (dxy) of3.17 μm, a Rayleigh length
(zR) of 10.13 μm, and a voxel overlap (δ) of 0.6. These conditions yielded a
Young’s modulus of 3.7 GPa and yield strength of 75.21 MPa. Overall, the
findings emphasize the challenges of parameter optimization when introducing
porosity and comparing materials. The results provide a systematic framework
for tailoring 2PP processing to guide biomedical microdevice design.