1 research outputs found
Systematic Design of Jettable Nanoparticle-Based Inkjet Inks: Rheology, Acoustics, and Jettability
Drop-on-demand inkjet printing of
functional inks has received a great deal of attention for realizing
printed electronics, rapidly prototyped structures, and large-area
systems. Although this method of printing promises high processing
speeds and minimal substrate contamination, the performance of this
process is often limited by the rheological parameters of the ink
itself. Effective ink design must address a myriad of issues, including
suppression of the coffee-ring effect, proper drop pinning on the
substrate, long-term ink reliability, and, most importantly, stable
droplet formation, or jettability. In this work, by simultaneously
considering optimal jetting conditions and ink rheology, we develop
and experimentally validate a jettability window within the capillary
number–Weber number space. Furthermore, we demonstrate the
exploitation of this window to adjust nanoparticle-based ink rheology
predictively to realize a jettable ink. Finally, we investigate the
influence of mass loading on jettability to establish additional practical
limitations on nanoparticle ink design