Master’s Projects – Spring 2025
If you are interested in learning more about any of the projects below, please contact Prof Yee at [email protected]
Hydrogel infusion additive manufacturing (HIAM) of glass (Semester or Thesis)
One line summary: 3D printing of glass
One of our group’s research thrusts is on the development of polymers that can be thermally converted into composites, ceramics, and metals. We achieve this by infusing hydrogels with metal precursors and then running an in-situ synthesis reaction to convert them into the desired product. Using our hydrogel infusion additive manufacturing (HIAM) technology, we have been able to make a variety of functional materials, from zinc oxide to tungsten.
In this project, you will work with us to expand our HIAM technology to printing glass. This will entail the following: developing chemistries for synthesizing silica-based materials, characterising the thermal degradation behaviour of these silica-based materials, and thermal conversion of these silica-precursors into silica glass.
Required experience: Must have worked in a wet chemistry lab before.
Preferred experience: Nanoparticle synthesis; Resin-based 3D printing
Polymer design for Hydrogel Infusion Additive Manufacturing (HIAM) (Semester or Thesis)
One line summary: Developing polymers for HIAM
One of our group’s research thrusts is on the development of polymers that can be thermally converted into composites, ceramics, and metals. We achieve this by infusing hydrogels with metal precursors and then running an in-situ synthesis reaction to convert them into the desired product. Using our technology, we have been able to make a variety of functional materials, from zinc oxide to tungsten.
In this project, you will work with us to develop polymers compatible for use with HIAM. This will entail the following: developing compliant and tough polymers, characterising the mechanical properties of these polymers, and assessing their equilibrium swelling ratio.
Required experience: Must have worked in a wet chemistry lab before.
Preferred experience: Polymer synthesis; Resin-based 3D printing
Poly(ionic liquids) (Thesis only)
One line summary: 3D printing of poly(ionic liquids)
In this project, you will work with us to explore the 3D printing of poly(ionic liquids). Ionic liquids are organic salts that are generally liquid below 100˚C. At ALCHEMY, we are interested in exploring how ionic liquids can enable the fabrication of materials that cannot typically be photopolymerization. In this project, you will work with us to develop photopolymerizable ionic liquids and explore their structure property relationships.
Required experience: Must have worked in a wet chemistry lab before.
Preferred experience: Polymer synthesis; Resin-based 3D printing
Vat Photopolymerization of Natural Biopolymers (Semester or Thesis)
One line summary: 3D printing of stimuli-responsive natural biopolymers
We have recently been interested in understanding how natural biopolymers can be used in vat photopolymerization (resin printing). In particular, we want to understand how proteins can be used as material building blocks in 3D printing. In this project, you will work with us to develop photoresins that contain such or similar natural biopolymers and understand the conditions where they are amendable to additive manufacturing. Depending on the background of the student (and whether it is a semester or thesis project), we aim to understand one or more of the following: the impact of resin formulation on printability and properties; the stimuli-responsive behaviour of such biopolymers; etc.
Required experience: Must have worked in a wet chemistry lab before
Anisotropic Composites (Semester or Thesis)
One line summary: 3D printing of composites with anisotropic fillers
We have recently developed a 3D printer that can fabricate anisotropic composites. In this project, you will work with us to fabricate 3D composite materials with spatially varying properties. This will entail the following: synthesis of nanoparticles, developing soft polymers, fabricating composites, characterising the mechanical properties of these composites, and actuating these composites.
Required experience: Must have worked in a wet chemistry lab before
Preferred experience: Nanoparticle synthesis
Photo Ring Opening Metathesis Polymerization (Thesis only)
One line summary: 3D printing with ring opening metathesis polymerization
Please contact Prof. Yee for more information about this project.
Open Projects
If none of the projects above interest you but you are interested in working with ALCHEMY in general for a Masters Semester Project, Masters Thesis, or otherwise, please contact Prof. Yee to discuss. We are open to the creation or modification of projects as long as they are aligned with our lab’s research goals of developing molecules, materials, and machines for advanced manufacturing.