Abstract
The tendency to develop flexible and transparent materials has been growing in the last decade. As inkjet printing technology has become a widespread method for the fabrication of functional materials, the investigation of the inkjet printing process seems to be essential with regard to polymers, which are a viscous and flexible media. In this study, we evaluated the dependence of ink drop coalescence on process parameters such as polymer viscosity (controlled by polymerization time), drop spacing and drop speed. The results showed that drop coalescence was mostly influenced by drop speed, while drop spacing and substrate polymer viscosity did not significantly affect the printing results. The presented data are crucial for understanding the processes involved in the fabrication of flexible materials by inkjet printing.
Highlights
Over the last few years, there has been a great growth of interest in the use of flexible materials [1], especially in electronics [2,3,4,5]
We chose PDMS as it is often used as a flexible polymeric microscales was used in this work
We chose PDMS as it is often used as a flexible polymeric substrate due substrate due to its special mechanical and optical properties
Summary
Over the last few years, there has been a great growth of interest in the use of flexible materials [1], especially in electronics [2,3,4,5]. Different techniques are involved in the fabrication of flexible materials, e.g., hot embossing [12,13], laser ablation [14], roll-to-roll process [15,16,17], plasma-enhanced chemical vapor deposition (PECVD) [6], lithography [18], chemical vapor deposition (CVD) [19], and additive technologies [3,4]. The inkjet printing technology is one of the most promising methods for the cost-effective and straightforward fabrication of functional materials with a high resolution [20,21]. A major feature of inkjet printing is the transfer of ink material to a substrate as liquid drops. No mechanical contact between the printhead and the substrate is required [22]
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callDisclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
