Stable large area drop-on-demand deposition of a conductive polymer ink for 3D-printed electronics, enabled by bio-renewable co-solvents

Rivers, Geoffrey; Austin, Jonathan S.; He, Yinfeng; Thompson, Adam; Gilani, Negar; Roberts, Nathan; Zhao, Peng; Tuck, Christopher J.; Hague, Richard J.M.; Wildman, Ricky D.; Turyanska, Lyudmila

Abstract

Development of conductive polymer ink formulations with reliable jetting stability and physical properties could offer sustainable routes for scaling-up the 3D-printing of electronics. We report a new poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene) polystyrene sulphonate (PEDOT:PSS) ink formulation, InkCG, using bio-renewable solvents dihydrolevoglucosenone (cyrene) and glycerol carbonate (GC) as an alternative to commonly used dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO). These green organic co-solvents enhance jetting reliability and long-term stability of the ink and improve electrical properties of the deposited PEDOT:PSS layers, compared to the commonly used DMSO-containing ink formulations. We achieve large-area and high-fidelity electronic devices (array of 140 devices) with reproducible electrical performance through inkjet-based 3D printing. Enhanced performance stability is observed under cyclic bending, thermal annealing, UV or IR exposure, offering exciting opportunities for sustainable deposition of PEDOT:PSS for large-area 3D printing and its exploitation in heterostructures and flexible electronics.

Citation

Rivers, G., Austin, J. S., He, Y., Thompson, A., Gilani, N., Roberts, N., …Turyanska, L. (2023). Stable large area drop-on-demand deposition of a conductive polymer ink for 3D-printed electronics, enabled by bio-renewable co-solvents. Additive Manufacturing, 66, Article 103452. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.addma.2023.103452

• Journal Article Type: Article
• Acceptance Date: Feb 13, 2023
• Online Publication Date: Feb 14, 2023
• Publication Date: Mar 25, 2023
• Deposit Date: Sep 7, 2023
• Publicly Available Date: Sep 8, 2023
• Journal: Additive Manufacturing
• Print ISSN: 2214-7810
• Electronic ISSN: 2214-8604
• Publisher: Elsevier
• Peer Reviewed: Peer Reviewed
• Volume: 66
• Article Number: 103452
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.addma.2023.103452
• Keywords: PEDOT; PSS; Conductive polymers; Inkjet printing; Large scale array; Heterostructures
• Public URL: https://nottingham-repository.worktribe.com/output/17386064
• Publisher URL: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2214860423000659?via%3Dihub