Recent Advances in Controlling the Depositing Morphologies of Inkjet Droplets

Abstract

Inkjet printing has been widely used in functional material patterning for fabrication of optical/electrical devices. The depositing morphologies of inkjet droplets are critical to the resolution and performance of resulted functional patterns. This review summarizes various strategies to control the depositing morphologies of inkjet droplets, including suppressing and utilizing coffee-ring effect, employing liquid substrates, developing patterned substrates and controlling droplets coalescence. Moreover, the remaining challenges in controlling inkjet droplets are presented, and the broad research and application prospects of controlling nanomaterial patterning by inkjet printing are proposed.

Inkjet Printing of Functional Materials for Optical and Photonic Applications

“…This solid phase at the contact line can prevent the liquid to recede, pinning the droplet to its initial size and controlling in this way the size of the final deposit. However, as evaporation further proceeds in the edge, the loss of liquid in this region can be compensated, as explained by Deegan and coworkers, by flow of liquid from the inner part of the droplet bringing more solid material to the edge where it deposits, what is known as the “coffee stain effect” [50,51,52]. Although this circular ring accumulation of material can be seen as an opportunity for patterning of materials [53,54], usually it has been found as a limitation since it results in poorer device performance [55].…”

Drying-mediated patterns in colloid-polymer suspensions

“…As studied, self-pinning by solute confinement at a three-phase (liquid-solid-vapor) contact region governs droplet evaporation dynamics as a basic requisite for the coffee-ring effect 12, 13 . In inkjet printing technology, the coffee-ring effect is a central problem because it obstructs production of crack-free uniform colloidal films 8, 14, 15 . Suppression of the coffee-ring effect has been an essential topic in recent decade researches 16–21 and a variety of feasible methods for crack prevention have been suggested to date 22, 23 .…”

Assembly and Electronic Applications of Colloidal Nanomaterials

“…[249] A high solid content in the ink is usually preferred, but is limited by the stabilizing mechanisms of the constituent colloidal nanomaterials and the maximum allowed viscosities (typical ink viscosities range from 1 to 100 cP). [250] A growing library of nanomaterial inks (e.g., Ag, graphene, and SWCNTs) [145,251] has been developed for inkjet printing. [250] A growing library of nanomaterial inks (e.g., Ag, graphene, and SWCNTs) [145,251] has been developed for inkjet printing.…”

“…[250] A growing library of nanomaterial inks (e.g., Ag, graphene, and SWCNTs) [145,251] has been developed for inkjet printing. [249,250] Review ( [249,250] Review (…”