Synthesis of Printable Polyvinyl Alcohol for Aerosol Jet and Inkjet Printing Technology

• Main Authors: Mahmuda Akter Monne, Chandan Qumar Howlader, Bhagyashree Mishra, Maggie Yihong Chen
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: MDPI AG 2021-02-01
• Series: Micromachines
• Subjects: aerosol jet printing; dielectric; etching; inkjet printing; polyvinyl alcohol (PVA), polymers; sacrificial material
• Online Access: https://www.mdpi.com/2072-666X/12/2/220

Polyvinyl Alcohol (PVA) is a promising polymer due to its high solubility with water, availability in low molecular weight, having short polymer chain, and cost-effectiveness in processing. Printed technology is gaining popularity to utilize processible solution materials at low/room temperature. This work demonstrates the synthesis of PVA solution for 2.5% w/w, 4.5% w/w, 6.5% w/w, 8.5% w/w and 10.5% w/w aqueous solution was formulated. Then the properties of the ink, such as viscosity, contact angle, surface tension, and printability by inkjet and aerosol jet printing, were investigated. The wettability of the ink was investigated on flexible (Kapton) and non-flexible (Silicon) substrates. Both were identified as suitable substrates for all concentrations of PVA. Additionally, we have shown aerosol jet printing (AJP) and inkjet printing (IJP) can produce multi-layer PVA structures. Finally, we have demonstrated the use of PVA as sacrificial material for micro-electro-mechanical-system (MEMS) device fabrication. The dielectric constant of printed PVA is 168 at 100 kHz, which shows an excellent candidate material for printed or traditional transistor fabrication.