Modulation of Curing Characteristics and Printing Accuracy of SiO₂ Ceramic Slurry Owing to Trace Organic Dyes in Vat Photopolymerization

To address the forming–accuracy challenges of silica ceramic components fabricated via digital light processing (DLP), this study proposes a method for adjusting the absorption of incident light by silica ceramic slurries through the addition of organic dyes (curcumin, methyl chloride, and Sudan I), which significantly improves the printing accuracy. This study systematically investigates the effects of the content of different organic dyes on the rheological properties, curing behavior, and ultraviolet absorbance of silica ceramic slurries. The results show that adding organic dyes negligibly affects the rheological properties of silica ceramic slurries. For silica ceramic slurries containing curcumin and Sudan I, the organic dyes substantially increase the absorbance of the slurries. Consequently, even trace amounts of curcumin and Sudan I can significantly enhance the forming accuracy of silica ceramics. This study demonstrates that utilizing the selective light–absorption characteristics of organic dyes can suppress light scattering at its source, offering a straightforward and purity–preserving new route for fabricating high–precision, complex–structured SiO₂ ceramic components.