Au pattern fabrication on a cellulose paper using micro-contact printing technique: Solvent swell effect

Cellulose paper has been discovered as a smart material including actuating behavior and electro-active paper (EAPap) with application of electric field. To control the electro-active motion, the EAPap requires electronic components on the paper. However, conventional lithography technique cannot apply to the paper to fabricate electronic components due to its hydrophilic nature, water absorption, and flexibility. For this reason, a micro-contact printing (MCP) technique was employed to fabricate Au patterns on the EAPap. Large number of Au-islands and irregular edge patterns were observed on the transferred Au-pattern when the self-assembled monolayer (SAM) was fabricated on the cellulose surface. Therefore, SAM was fabricated on the Au-surface. The surface quality of the transferred Au was strongly dependent on the solvent polarity. Better surface morphology of the transferred Au-pattern was obtained with the polar solvent compared with nonpolar solvent.