In situ preparation of catalytic combustion films used as micro heat source by inkjet printing method

Catalyst films for methanol combustion, which could be used as micro heat source to provide energy for micro-nano-scale devices, were fabricated with an inkjet printing method. The inkjet printing was used to prepare catalyst films by optimizing inkjet-printed parameters (voltage: 65-70 V; pulse width: 20-30 μs; ink viscosity: near 1 mPa s) and depositing uniform morphologies (substrate temperature: 80 °C; water/ethylene glycol (W/EG): 95:5, v/v). The performances of micro catalytic heat source were evaluated by an infrared thermography (IR) camera. The temperature response reached 95% of the steady state temperature in about 150 s, the temperature difference reached 100 °C on the catalyst surface, and the temperature of catalytic combustion was controlled by adjusting the methanol/air (10% v/v) flow rate.