Hostname: page-component-78c5997874-mlc7c Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-14T23:45:05.053Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false

Preparation of spherical, ordered colloidal aggregates using inkjet printing

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  12 July 2012

Enrico Sowade
Affiliation:
Institute for Print and Media Technology, Digital Printing and Imaging Technology, Chemnitz University of Technology, Chemnitz, Germany.
Thomas Blaudeck
Affiliation:
Institute for Print and Media Technology, Digital Printing and Imaging Technology, Chemnitz University of Technology, Chemnitz, Germany. Center for Microtechnologies, Chemnitz University of Technology, Chemnitz, Germany.
Reinhard R. Baumann
Affiliation:
Institute for Print and Media Technology, Digital Printing and Imaging Technology, Chemnitz University of Technology, Chemnitz, Germany. Printed Functionalities, Fraunhofer Institute for Electronic Nanosystems (ENAS), Chemnitz, Germany.
Get access

Abstract

In this paper we report about combining inkjet printing technology and self-assembly as a scalable manufacturing tool for spherical, well-ordered aggregates. The aggregates consist of a high number of ordered colloidal nanospheres arranged as ball-shaped structures. Applying inkjet printing based on the principle of droplet ejection the spherical aggregates can be deposited on various surfaces in dry environment and under ambient conditions. The aggregation of the nanospheres is independent of the surface energy of the substrate leading to the assumption that the main part of the assembly and aggregation process takes place in-flight [1].

By applying inkjet printing with an adapted control signal, small droplets of a water-based ink formulation containing monodisperse polystyrene nanoparticles are ejected out of the inkjet nozzles. The ejected droplets serve as a confined geometry for the nanospheres in the carrier liquid during evaporation. As a result, the particles form stable ball-shaped aggregates with hexagonal order. Due to the in-flight self-assembly of the nanospheres, our approach is suitable for any solid surface in dry environment and allows the deposition of the ball-shaped aggregates in appropriate patterns.

Type
Articles
Copyright
Copyright © Materials Research Society 2012

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

REFERENCES

1. Sowade, E., Hammerschmidt, J., Blaudeck, T., and Baumann, R. R., “In-Flight Inkjet Self- Assembly of Spherical Nanoparticle Aggregates,” Advanced Engineering Materials, vol. 14, no. 1-2, pp. 98–100, 2012.Google Scholar
2. Kim, H. et al. ., “Structural colour printing using a magnetically tunable and lithographically fixable photonic crystal,” Nature Photonics, vol. 3, no. 9, pp. 534–540, 2009.Google Scholar
3. Sato, O., Kubo, S., and Gu, Z.-Z., “Structural Color Films with Lotus Effects,” Accounts of Chemical Research, vol. 42, no. 1, 2009.Google Scholar
4. Kol, N., Adler-Abramovich, L., Barlam, D., Shneck, R. Z., Gazit, E., and Rousso, I., “Self-assembled peptide nanotubes are uniquely rigid bioinspired supramolecular structures,” Nano letters, vol. 5, no. 7, pp. 13436, 2005.Google Scholar
5. Sun, T., Feng, L., Gao, X., and Jiang, L., “Bioinspired surfaces with special wettability,” Accounts of chemical research, vol. 38, no. 8, pp. 64452, 2005.Google Scholar
6. Wang, J., Zhang, Y., Wang, S., Song, Y., and Jiang, L. E. I., “Bioinspired Colloidal Photonic Crystals with Controllable Wettability,” Accounts of Chemical Research, vol. 44, no. 6, pp. 405–415, 2011.Google Scholar
7. Velev, O. D. and Gupta, S., “Materials Fabricated by Micro- and Nanoparticle Assembly - The Challenging Path from Science to Engineering,” Advanced Materials, vol. 21, no. 19, pp. 1897–1905, 2009.Google Scholar
8. Ozin, G. A. et al. ., “Nanofabrication by self-assembly,” Materials Today, vol. 12, no. 5, pp. 12–23, 2009.Google Scholar
9. Velev, O., Lenhoff, A., and Kaler, E., “A class of microstructured particles through colloidal crystallization,” Science, vol. 287, no. 5461, pp. 22403, Mar. 2000.Google Scholar
10. Gokmen, M. T. and Du Prez, F. E., “Porous polymer particles - A comprehensive guide to synthesis, characterization, functionalization and applications,” Progress in Polymer Science, vol. 37, no. 3, pp. 365–405, 2012.Google Scholar
11. Rastogi, V., Melle, S., Calderón, O. G., García, A. a., Marquez, M., and Velev, O. D., “Synthesis of Light-Diffracting Assemblies from Microspheres and Nanoparticles in Droplets on a Superhydrophobic Surface,” Advanced Materials, vol. 20, no. 22, pp. 4263–4268, 2008.Google Scholar
12. Ko, H.-Y., Park, J., Shin, H., and Moon, J., “Rapid Self-Assembly of Monodisperse Colloidal Spheres in an Ink-Jet Printed Droplet,” Chemistry of Materials, vol. 16, no. 22, pp. 4212–4215, 2004.Google Scholar
13. Kuncicky, D. M. and Velev, O. D., “Surface-guided templating of particle assemblies inside drying sessile droplets,” Langmuir, vol. 24, no. 4, pp. 1371–80, 2008.Google Scholar
14. Grzelczak, M., Vermant, J., Furst, E. M., and Liz-marza, L. M., “Directed Self-Assembly of Nanoparticles,” ACS nano, vol. 4, no. 7, pp. 3591–3605, 2010.Google Scholar
15. Cho, Y.-S., Kim, S.-H., Yi, G.-R., and Yang, S.-M., “Self-organization of colloidal nanospheres inside emulsion droplets: Higher-order clusters, supraparticles, and supraballs,” Colloids and Surfaces A: Physicochemical and Engineering Aspects, vol. 345, no. 1-3, pp. 237–245, 2009.Google Scholar
16. Kim, S.-H., Lee, S. Y., Yi, G.-R., Pine, D. J., and Yang, S.-M., “Microwave-assisted self-organization of colloidal particles in confining aqueous droplets,” Journal of the American Chemical Society, vol. 128, no. 33, pp. 10897904, 2006.Google Scholar
17. Yi, G.-R., Manoharan, V. N., Klein, S., Brzezinska, K. R., Pine, D. J., and Lange, F. F., “Monodisperse Micrometer-Scale Spherical Assemblies of Polymer Particles,” Advanced Materials, no. 16, pp. 1137–1140, 2002.Google Scholar
18. Cho, Y.-S., Yi, G.-R., Kim, S.-H., Pine, D. J., and Yang, S.-M., “Colloidal Clusters of Microspheres from Water-in-Oil Emulsions,” Chemistry of Materials, vol. 17, no. 20, pp. 5006–5013, 2005.Google Scholar