Custom tailoring of conductive ink/substrate properties for increased thin film deposition of poly(dimethylsiloxane) fil
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Custom tailoring of conductive ink/substrate properties for increased thin film deposition of poly(dimethylsiloxane) films Michael Joyce1 · Lokendra Pal1 · Robert Hicks2 · Sachin Agate1 · Thomas S. Williams2 · Graham Ray2 · Paul D. Fleming3 Received: 11 December 2017 / Accepted: 13 April 2018 © Springer Science+Business Media, LLC, part of Springer Nature 2018
Abstract The creation of more robust biocompatible printed electronics devices requires an understanding of interactions between conductive inks and substrates to achieve desired printing and functional properties. In this study, we present a waterbased conductive ink that can provide a readily achieved thin film deposition on a highly hydrophobic surface such as poly(dimethylsiloxane) (PDMS). We also show that surface treatments with atmospheric plasma can be utilized to tailor the surface energy of hydrophobic substrates to improve the deposition of inks not custom made for such applications. By using a tailored Ag nano-particle ink, we have successfully printed conductive traces onto a hydrophobic (PDMS) substrate without any surface modification. It was also shown that when introducing atmospheric plasma treatment to the PDMS substrate prior to printing with the tailored ink poor printing resulted. The proposed mechanism for the cause of this poor wetting and deposition is an adverse interaction between the ink and PDMS surface caused by surface oxidation resultant of plasma treatment. The results show that the generally accepted rule that a difference between the substrate and ink surface energy of 10 mN/m for good print quality does not necessarily hold true in the case of functional printing.
1 Introduction Developments in printed electronics have been reported with screen [1–8], gravure [9–14], flexographic [15–18], and inkjet [17–24] processes enabling the creation of functional electronic devices. However, the implementation of high-throughput printing techniques for the development of devices or components has been limited with regards to the use of polymeric materials including PDMS [1–4, 10, 24–34]. This is in part due to the known complications pertaining to the adhesion of metallic particles to these types of substrates [29–34]. Printed electrodes are essential components of any electronic product. To enable a high functioning * Michael Joyce [email protected] * Lokendra Pal [email protected] 1
North Carolina State University, 431 Dan Allen Dr., Raleigh, NC 27695, USA
2
Surfx Technologies, 2631 Manhattan Beach Blvd, Redondo Beach, CA 90278, USA
3
Western Michigan University, 4601 Campus Dr, Kalamazoo, MI 49008, USA
electrode, a continuous film is needed. Often, Ag or Au are used due to their high conductivity. With regards to its use in biomedical applications, Ag is also advantageous due to its high antimicrobial characteristics. The commercialization of printed electronic (PE) devices and components using naturally hydrophobic polymeric substrates, such as PDMS, will require advancements in knowledge of surface treatments, which
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