SnO₂-Ag composites with designed architectures with sub-millimeter feature sizes can provide enhanced functionality in electrical applications. SnO₂-Ag composites consisting of a ceramic SnO₂ micro-lattice filled with metallic Ag are created via a hybrid additive manufacturing method. The multistep process includes: (i) 3D extrusion printing of 0/90° cross-ply micro-lattices from SnO₂-7%CuO nanoparticle-loaded ink; (ii) thermal treatment in air to burn the binders and sinter struts of the SnO₂ micro-lattice to ~94% relative density; (iii) Ag melt infiltration of channels of sintered micro-lattices. Densification of the SnO₂ struts during air-sintering is accelerated by CuO liquid phase forming at 1100°C. During the subsequent Ag infiltration, CuO acts as wetting agent between Ag and SnO₂, with liquid Ag infiltrating the open channels of the SnO₂ lattice and the micropores in the SnO₂ struts left from incomplete sintering, thus forming a dense composite. Infiltration time and temperature influence the structure of the SnO₂-Ag interface and the distribution of CuO within the Ag matrix. The resulting anisotropic electrical conductivity of the composite is controlled by the low-conductivity SnO₂ architecture, as determined via finite element (FE) analysis. 3D ink-extruded and infiltrated SnO₂-Ag composites show good structural stability and maintain high conductivity upon thermal shock cycles between 850 and 20°C. FE analysis reveals that thermal expansion/contraction mismatch stresses between the ceramic and metallic phases are mostly concentrated at the contact area between filaments in the SnO₂ microlattices, and that plastic deformation accumulating in the soft Ag phase accommodates these mismatch stresses upon thermal cycling.

具有亚毫米特征尺寸的设计架构的SnO ₂ -Ag复合材料可以在电气应用中提供增强的功能。通过混合增材制造方法创建由填充有金属银的陶瓷SnO ₂微晶格组成的SnO ₂ -Ag复合材料。该多步骤过程包括：（i）从装载有SnO ₂ -7％CuO纳米颗粒的油墨中3D挤出印刷0/90°交叉层微晶格；（ii）在空气中进行热处理，以将SnO ₂微晶格的粘合剂和烧结支杆燃烧至〜94％相对密度；（iii）Ag熔体渗透到烧结的微晶格的通道中。SnO _2的致密化通过在1100°C下形成CuO液相，加速了空气烧结过程中的支柱。在随后的Ag渗透过程中，CuO充当Ag和SnO ₂之间的润湿剂，液态Ag渗透到SnO ₂晶格的开放通道中，并且由于不完全烧结而残留在SnO ₂支杆中的微孔，从而形成致密的复合材料。渗透时间和温度会影响SnO ₂ -Ag界面的结构以及CuO在Ag基体内的分布。复合材料的各向异性导电率由低电导率SnO ₂结构控制，这是通过有限元（FE）分析确定的。3D油墨挤出渗透SnO ₂-Ag复合材料表现出良好的结构稳定性，并在850至20°C的热冲击循环中保持高导电性。有限元分析表明，陶瓷相和金属相之间的热膨胀/收缩失配应力主要集中在SnO ₂微晶格中细丝之间的接触区域，并且在软银相中积累的塑性变形适应了热循环时的这些失配应力。