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Microdrop generation and deposition of ionic liquids

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  22 July 2014

Víctor J. Cadarso ,
Julia Perera-Nuñez ,
Antonio Mendez-Vilas ,
Luis Labajos-Broncano ,
Maria-Luisa González-Martín  and
Jürgen Brugger
Víctor J. Cadarso*
Affiliation:
Microsystem Laboratory, École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL), Lausanne 1015, Switzerland
Julia Perera-Nuñez
Affiliation:
Department of Applied Physics, University of Extremadura, Badajoz 06071, Spain
Antonio Mendez-Vilas
Affiliation:
Department of Applied Physics, University of Extremadura, Badajoz 06071, Spain
Luis Labajos-Broncano
Affiliation:
Department of Applied Physics, University of Extremadura, Badajoz 06071, Spain; and Networking Research Center of Bioengineering, Biomaterials and Nanomedicine (CIBER-BBN), Badajoz 06071, Spain
Maria-Luisa González-Martín
Affiliation:
Department of Applied Physics, University of Extremadura, Badajoz 06071, Spain; and Networking Research Center of Bioengineering, Biomaterials and Nanomedicine (CIBER-BBN), Badajoz 06071, Spain
Jürgen Brugger*
Affiliation:
Microsystem Laboratory, École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL), Lausanne 1015, Switzerland
*
a)Address all correspondence to these authors. e-mail: victor.cadarso@psi.ch
b)e-mail: juergen.brugger@epfl.ch
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Abstract

This work describes the use of a piezo-actuated inkjet print head with a nozzle aperture of 50 µm to obtain picoliter drops of different model ionic liquids (ILs). A theoretical analysis of the microdrop generation of three model ILs is confirmed by experiments. The inkjet print process was optimized to enable a stable and reproducible drop ejection in both continuous and drop-on-demand modes by controlling the temperature of the nozzle, as well as the electrical signal sent to the piezo actuator used to generate the drops. Controlled volumes ranging from 43 ± 3 pL to 319 ± 1 pL have been achieved, with a volume control down to 3 pL. The null volatility of ILs yields an extremely high stability of the inkjet process, obtaining drops with very constant volumes during the entire print process. It also avoids the coffee staining effect observed in the deposition of conventional liquid drops. The possibility to deposit controlled volumes in a reproducible way is demonstrated here and applied to a proof-of-concept application with the aim to create dense concave optical lens arrays by replicating the deposited ionic liquid microdrops in poly(dimethylsiloxane) (PDMS).

Type
Articles
Information
Journal of Materials Research , Volume 29 , Issue 17: Focus Issue: The Materials Science of Additive Manufacturing , 14 September 2014 , pp. 2100 - 2107
Copyright
Copyright © Materials Research Society 2014 

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References

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