Partially Water-Soluble Feedstock for Ceramic Vat Photopolymerization Enabling Two-Stage Debinding

Vat photopolymerization (VPP) is a mature ceramic additive manufacturing technology. However, the large amount of organic material that must be removed during thermal debinding remains a major limitation, particularly in components with thick walls. The thermoset nature of VPP polymers inhibits chemical debinding prior to thermal treatment. In this work, sucrose is investigated as a water-soluble, renewable, and non-toxic additive to enable partial removal of organics before thermal debinding. Photosensitive alumina suspensions containing up to 20 vol% sucrose were formulated and used to fabricate 3D-printed parts, enabling a two-stage debinding strategy. The water-based debinding step removed up to 44 vol% of the added sucrose, generating porous channels predominantly near the surfaces, thereby partially decoupling pore formation from thermal decomposition. This porosity facilitated organic removal during thermal debinding and reduced defect formation. Moreover, the sucrose content provided a means to tailor the final porosity. This approach demonstrates a simple and effective route to facilitate debinding, enable partial decoupling of pore formation from thermal decomposition, and control porosity in VPP-produced ceramics.