3D Printing of glasses with tunable UV–VIS–IR photoluminescence via low-temperature nanoscale engineering

Recent breakthroughs in three-dimensional (3D) printing of glass have enabled precise shaping of glass structures from macro to microscale while retaining their excellent physical and chemical properties. However, current functional developments in 3D printed glass primarily focus on leveraging its intrinsic optical transparency, with limited exploration of photonics application. 3D-printed glass functionalized by quantum dots (QDs) will hold great promise for creating desired photonic functional macro- and microstructures. However, voxel-precision customization of photonic functions in 3D printed glass by the monodispersed and size-controlled QDs is fundamentally conflict with the high-temperature sintering process required in 3D printed glass. Here, we present a simple, cost-effective method for creating a library of QDs functionalized 3D-printed glasses with tunable UV-VIS-IR photoluminescence (PL) by printing nanoporous glass (NG) followed by low-temperature nanoscale engineering of QDs growth. The integration of uniform and size-controlled QDs imparts 3D printed glass with fine tuning in composition, architecture, and photonic functionalities, while nanoscale engineering of the micro-environment enables precise tailoring of various QDs with enhanced optical performance and stability. This universal approach establishes a benchmark for 3D-printed functional glasses with advanced photonic capabilities.