Abstract Scope |
Pre-treatment methods, like plasma and corona discharges, are often used to functionalize, activate, or clean any surfaces in many industries, including printed (bio-)electronics. Prior printing step, those methods can increase the wettability of the ink on hydrophobic substrates, such as silicones (PDMS) and TPU. New inks formulations that are compatible with such substrates can mitigate pre-treatments, but usually, they are inevitable with common, available commercial inks.
In this work, the wettability and adhesion of silver ink and conductive polymer ink (PEDOT:PSS) developed for Aerosol JetŪ Printing (AJŪP) are investigated on TPUs, PET, and PDMS substrates, with and without the influence of corona and spot-plasma pre-treatments. Each method was investigated with two different settings. Contact angle measurements, AJŪP and adhesion tape tests, are performed to investigate the best substrate-treatment combination. Such fundamental study can be critical in printed (bio-)electronics pilot lines for prototyping and serial manufacturing of smart electronics. |