Effects of pulsing frequency on characteristics of electrohydrodynamic inkjet using micro-Al and nano-Ag particles

Characteristics of electrohydrodynamic inkjet were examined upon varying the applied voltage and frequency as well as the base-fluid. Low-cost inks are sought and micro-aluminum particle suspensions are candidates. Inclusion of large particles engendered satellite droplets and hence degraded print quality. However, the formation of satellite droplets can be prevented by increasing fluid’s viscosity. Droplet sizes were measured as functions of the frequency; the higher the frequency, the smaller the droplet size. The low-cost inks with aluminum particles yielded reasonable performance on comparison with the expensive commercial ink comprised of silver nano-particles in case of printing dots that are a few hundred microns in size.

► EHD inkjet printing was studied using commercial Ag ink and an in-house Al ink.
► Satellite drop formation can be diminished by increasing the ink viscosity.
► Drop sizes were an inverse function of the frequency of the applied voltage.