Piezoelectric Drop-On-Demand Inkjet Printing of High-Viscosity Inks

Drop-on-demand inkjet printing of highly viscous fluids represents a highly attractive emerging technology for advanced material deposition. The jetting of viscous inks, such as concentrated polymer solutions and nanoparticle suspensions, is a key enabling technology for many industrial applications, ranging from microelectronics to biomedicine and ceramics manufacturing. Currently available standard inkjet printers typically operate in a relatively narrow viscosity range (up to 16 mPa s), and alternative drop-on-demand printing techniques (such as laser-induced forward transfer) present limited industrial applicability. In this context, the development of a piezoelectric-driven printhead capable of jetting high-viscosity fluids is of great interest. Herein, a prototype of such a device is presented and its performance is evaluated using model fluids at increasing viscosities. Specifically, the dependence of emitted droplets’ properties on jetting parameters is evaluated and linked to the physical characteristics of the system. In optimal conditions, piezoelectric jetting of solutions characterized by viscosities in excess of 200 cP is achieved. Finally, as an applicative example, the jetting of functional inks is attempted. A ZnO suspension and a poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene) (PEDOT) based solution are successfully jetted to demonstrate the applicability of the developed printhead to the deposition of ceramic suspensions and concentrated polymer solutions.