Conventional surface acoustic wave - electrostatic deposition (SAW-ED) technology is struggling to compete with other thin film fabrication technologies because of its limitation in atomizing high density solutions or solutions with strong inter-particle bonding that requires very high frequency (100 MHz) and power. In this study, a hybrid surface acoustic wave - electrohydrodynamic atomization (SAW-EHDA) system has been introduced to overcome this problem by integrating EHDA with SAW to achieve the deposition of different types of conductive inks at lower frequency (19.8 MHZ) and power. Three materials, Poly [2-methoxy-5-(2-ethylhexyloxy)-1, 4-phenylenevinylene] (MEH-PPV), Zinc Oxide (ZnO), and Poly(3, 4-ethylenedioxythiophene):Polystyrene Sulfonate (PEDOT:PSS) have been successfully deposited as thin films through the hybrid SAW-EHDA. The films showed good morphological, chemical, electrical, and optical characteristics. To further evaluate the characteristics of deposited films, a humidity sensor was fabricated with active layer of PEDOT:PSS deposited using the SAW-EHDA system. The response of sensor was outstanding and much better when compared to similar sensors fabricated using other manufacturing techniques. The results of the device and the films’ characteristics suggest that the hybrid SAW-EHDA technology has high potential to efficiently produce wide variety of thin films and thus predict its promising future in certain areas of printed electronics.
This paper represents the multiphysics simulation of droplet generation of ink containing conductive nano-particles through electrostatic forces on substrate. The main focus is to investigate the phenomena by generating the drops through a nozzle with the help of electrostatic forces. The electrostatic based deposition system has vast application in printed electronics and biotechnology. In electrostatic deposition mechanism for droplet generation, a strong electric potential is applied at the tip of the nozzle; due this electric potential, the liquid containing the nano-particles experience strong electrostatic static forces at the interface with the air (at the tip of the nozzle). When these electrostatic forces exceed the internal (viscous forces) and external forces (surface tension), a deformation takes place which results in the flow of the liquid in the form of droplets. The size of the droplet is dependent on different parameters like applied voltage, properties of the ink, dimension of the nozzle. To have better understanding of this, a numerical simulation was performed based on multi-physics approach. Multiple simulations were performed by changing the position of electrode in nozzle and varying the applied voltage. Droplet size with respect to applied voltage was evaluated; electric field with respect to applied voltage and time for the droplet generation was also evaluated through these simulations. This study will help in better understanding the parameters of droplet generation phenomena and optimal design of the nozzle for the electrostatic inkjet system.
Thick electrodes can substantially enhance the overall energy density of batteries. However, insufficient wettability of aqueous electrolytes toward electrodes with conventional hydrophobic binders severely limits utilization of active materials with increasing the thickness of electrodes for aqueous batteries, resulting in battery performance deterioration with a reduced capacity. Here, we demonstrate that controlling the hydrophilicity of the thicker electrodes is critical to enhancing the overall energy density of batteries. Hydrophilic binders are synthesized via a simple sulfonation process of conventional polyvinylidene fluoride binders, considering physicochemical properties such as mechanical properties and adhesion. The introduction of abundant sulfonate groups of binders (i) allows fast and sufficient electrolyte wetting, and (ii) improves ionic conduction in thick electrodes, enabling a significant increase in reversible capacities under various current densities. Further, the sulfonated binder effectively inhibits the dissolution of cathode materials in reactive aqueous electrolytes. Overall, our findings significantly enhance the energy density and contribute to the development of practical zinc-ion batteries.
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