Aerogel‐Based TiO₂ Stable Inks for Direct Inkjet Printing of Nanostructured Layers

Abstract

Inkjet printing presents a high potential for cost reduction of electronic devices manufacturing due to the capacity to deposit materials with high precision, less material waste, and large-scale production through the roll-to-roll printing processes. In this work, a nanostructured TiO2 ink was developed using TiO2 aerogel and an alkaline aqueous solution, which resulted in a very stable suspension. A high-intensity ultrasonic mixer was used to fragment and disperse TiO2 aerogels producing suspensions with particles smaller than 200 nm, which are suitable for the inkjet printing process. For the development of the ink, the viscosity and surface tension were adjusted by using glycerol and a surfactant (Triton X-100). The influence of those components on the properties of the ink was evaluated for different concentrations. After formulation of the inks, the printing parameters were adjusted to optimize the process. Films with high surface area and less than 100 nm grain size were successfully produced. Electrical measurements revealed a resistive-like behavior with the sheet resistance increasing with number of printed layers.

Spatial control of the conductivity in SrTiO3-based heterointerfaces using inkjet printing

“…Even in the case of an imperfect TiO 2 ink that did not result in a fully dense layer after calcination, a high-resistive state was still formed underneath the ink with further potential for realizing 1D quantum physics, study percolating networks or constructing wearable strain sensors from metallic networks formed by a percolating growth template [44,45]. Advances in stabilizing inkjet inks [28][29][30], scale-down of characteristic feature sizes as well as the formation of 3D structures through 3D printing further enhances the potential of using the present hard mask approach for forming patterned electronic and ionic conductivity with various 2D and 3D shapes [46,47]. This allows for inkjet printing to be used for, e.g.…”

“…In the case of TiO 2 , the printed area appear with several white points arising from the ink coalescing into an inhomogeneous, nanostructured layer rather than forming a homogeneous film during the solvent evaporation in the calcination process (see figure 2(d)). These imperfections in the printed layer can be avoided by optimizing the composition of the TiO 2 ink [28][29][30] or, as shown in figures 2(e) and (f), by printing YSZ [31]. Here, the YSZ ink forms a homogeneous oxide film without micro-or nanometric cracks.…”

Aerogel‐Based Biomaterials for Biomedical Applications: From Fabrication Methods to Disease‐Targeting Applications

“…Less material wastage in these methods lowers the cost of 3D-printed components. [155] Yan et al developed a hierarchical silver nanowire aerogel using DoD inkjet printing integrated with a freeze-casting method. [156] In the proposed method, Ag nanowire ink mixed with DI water was prepared and dispensed droplet-by-droplet on a printing bed with a temperature of −30 °C.…”

Preparation and application of titanium dioxide nanoparticles in offset ink

“…TiO2 also has the added benefit of offering superior brightness, which also increases the quality of a finished product considering its appearance. The abrasive nature of this compound does offer a problem to printers, especially gravure printers, because of its transitivity, which wears down the engraved imaged cylinder and ink metering doctor blade [3]. TiO2 nanostructures (in various forms) have many applications thanks to the size-related features.…”