biostudies-literatureHu CCharacterization Facility at Carnegie Mellon UniversityNINDS NIH HHSNational Institutes of HealthNIH HHSNational Science FoundationClarkson Aerospace and Air Force Office of Scientific Research (AFOSR)e2405334https://www.ebi.ac.uk/biostudies/studies/S-EPMC12005755biostudies-literatureUnknown12(15)Manufacturing of ceramics is challenging due to their low toughness and high hardness. Additive Manufacturing (AM) has been explored to create complex ceramic structures, but current techniques face a tradeoff between precisely controlled feature sizes and high shrinkage at the microscales. Here, we introduce 3D-AJP, a novel freeform ceramic fabrication method that enables highly complex microscale 3D ceramic architectures-such as micropillars, spirals, and lattices-with minimal shrinkage and no auxiliary support. Using a near-binder-free nanoparticle ink in an Aerosol Jet (AJ) 3D printer, our approach precisely controls feature sizes down to 20 µm with aspect ratios up to 30:1. The resulting structures exhibit exceptionally low linear shrinkage of 2-6% upon sintering, spanning five ordersAdvanced science (Weinheim, Baden-Wurttemberg, Germany)3D-AJP: Fabrication of Advanced Microarchitected Multimaterial Ceramic Structures via Binder-Free and Auxiliary-Free Aerosol Jet 3D Nanoprinting.PMC12005755RF1 NS110483RF1NS110483CMMI-2328678MCF-677785CMMI‐2328678AWD00001291Hu CYuan BPanat RJahan Sfalse3D-AJP: Fabrication of Advanced Microarchitected Multimaterial Ceramic Structures via Binder-Free and Auxiliary-Free Aerosol Jet 3D Nanoprinting.Manufacturing of ceramics is challenging due to their low toughness and high hardness. Additive Manufacturing (AM) has been explored to create complex ceramic structures, but current techniques face a tradeoff between precisely controlled feature sizes and high shrinkage at the microscales. Here, we introduce 3D-AJP, a novel freeform ceramic fabrication method that enables highly complex microscale 3D ceramic architectures-such as micropillars, spirals, and lattices-with minimal shrinkage and no auxiliary support. Using a near-binder-free nanoparticle ink in an Aerosol Jet (AJ) 3D printer, our approach precisely controls feature sizes down to 20 µm with aspect ratios up to 30:1. The resulting structures exhibit exceptionally low linear shrinkage of 2-6% upon sintering, spanning five orders2025-01-01T00:00:00Z2025 Apr2025-06-28T03:05:26.425Z2025-06-28T03:05:26.425ZS-EPMC120057553992131810.1002/advs.202405334