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Mechanisms of inkjet printing in a liquid environment

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  14 September 2022

Dege Li Open the ORCID record for Dege Li [Opens in a new window] ,
Haoren Li ,
Guodong Yang ,
Yi Cao ,
Bingfang Huang ,
Xinlei Wu Open the ORCID record for Xinlei Wu [Opens in a new window] ,
Qiang Sun ,
Chi Ma ,
Yu Zhou  and
Yonghong Liu Open the ORCID record for Yonghong Liu [Opens in a new window]
...Show all authors
Dege Li
Affiliation:
College of Mechanical and Electronic Engineering, China University of Petroleum (East China), Qingdao, 266580, PR China
Haoren Li
Affiliation:
College of Mechanical and Electronic Engineering, China University of Petroleum (East China), Qingdao, 266580, PR China
Guodong Yang
Affiliation:
College of Mechanical and Electronic Engineering, China University of Petroleum (East China), Qingdao, 266580, PR China
Yi Cao
Affiliation:
College of Mechanical and Electronic Engineering, China University of Petroleum (East China), Qingdao, 266580, PR China
Bingfang Huang
Affiliation:
College of Mechanical and Electronic Engineering, China University of Petroleum (East China), Qingdao, 266580, PR China
Xinlei Wu
Affiliation:
College of Mechanical and Electronic Engineering, China University of Petroleum (East China), Qingdao, 266580, PR China
Qiang Sun
Affiliation:
College of Mechanical and Electronic Engineering, China University of Petroleum (East China), Qingdao, 266580, PR China
Chi Ma
Affiliation:
College of Mechanical and Electronic Engineering, China University of Petroleum (East China), Qingdao, 266580, PR China
Yu Zhou
Affiliation:
State Key Laboratory of Mechanical System and Vibration, School of Mechanical Engineering, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai 200240, PR China
Yonghong Liu*
Affiliation:
College of Mechanical and Electronic Engineering, China University of Petroleum (East China), Qingdao, 266580, PR China
Yanzhen Zhang*
Affiliation:
College of Mechanical and Electronic Engineering, China University of Petroleum (East China), Qingdao, 266580, PR China
*
†Email addresses for correspondence: liuyhupc@163.com, zhangyanzhen@upc.edu.cn
†Email addresses for correspondence: liuyhupc@163.com, zhangyanzhen@upc.edu.cn
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Abstract

Inkjet printing, originally invented for text and pattern printing, is now central to many industrial applications, such as printed electronics, flexible electronics, 3-D printing of mechanical and even biological devices. However, constrained by the droplets’ ejection mechanism, the accuracy of traditional inkjet printing is limited by the size of its orifice, and it is difficult to achieve a volume of droplets at the femtolitre scale, which hinders its further application in the above fields. To this end, we propose the confined interface vibration inkjet printing (CIVIJP) technique, which is capable of printing patterns in a liquid environment with droplet size much smaller than the orifice from which they are dispensed. Here, further systematic study of the mechanism of printing in a liquid environment was carried out with the assistance of a high-speed imaging technique. It is found for the first time that a single pulse stimulation applied on the piezo-ceramic of the inkjet nozzle can trigger damping oscillations of the oil/water interface confined by the orifice, which can last more than 500 $\mathrm {\mu }$s. By adjusting the intensity of single pulse stimulation, the size and quantity of the dispensed droplets can be controlled in a wide range, which is obviously different from traditional droplet ejection in a gaseous environment. This work reveals the underlying physics between the pulse stimulation and the interface behaviours, as well as the physics between the interface behaviours and the size and number of dispensed droplets, enriching the fundamental theory of the inkjet printing in liquid phase.

JFM classification

Micro-/Nano-fluid dynamics: Microfluidics Drops and Bubbles: Drops Drops and Bubbles: Breakup/coalescence
Type
JFM Papers
Information
Journal of Fluid Mechanics , Volume 948 , 10 October 2022 , A40
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Copyright
© The Author(s), 2022. Published by Cambridge University Press

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Li et al. Supplementary Movie 1

The relationship between the interface vibration and the driving waveform.

Download Li et al. Supplementary Movie 1(Video)
Video 8.2 MB

Li et al. Supplementary Movie 2

Different interface behavior driven by the different waveforms in Figure 8.

Download Li et al. Supplementary Movie 2(Video)
Video 23.2 MB

Li et al. Supplementary Movie 3

Single big droplet dispensed by regulating the driving waveform.

Download Li et al. Supplementary Movie 3(Video)
Video 12.2 MB

Li et al. Supplementary Movie 4

Different droplet formation conditions triggered by a single waveform.

Download Li et al. Supplementary Movie 4(Video)
Video 27.1 MB