A Review on 3D Architected Pyrolytic Carbon Produced by Additive Micro/Nanomanufacturing

Additive micro/nano-manufacturing of polymeric precursors combining with a subsequent pyrolysis step enables the design-controlled fabrication of micro/nano-architected 3D pyrolytic carbon structures with complex architectural details. Pyrolysis results in a significant geometrical shrinkage of the pyrolytic carbon structure, leading to a structural dimension significantly smaller than the resolution limit of the involved additive manufacturing technology. Combining with the material properties of carbon and 3D architectures, architected 3D pyrolytic carbon exhibits exceptional properties, which are significantly superior to that of bulk carbon materials. This article presents a comprehensive review of the manufacturing processes of micro/nano-architected pyrolytic carbon materials, their properties, and corresponding demonstrated applications. Acknowledging the “young” age of the field of micro/nano-architected carbon, this article also addresses the current challenges and paints the future research directions of this field.