Effects of Particle Size and Substrate Surface Properties on Deposition Dynamics of Inkjet-Printed Colloidal Drops for Printable Photovoltaics Fabrication

Using fluorescence microscopy, the inkjet deposition dynamics of monodispersed polystyrene particles in the size range of 0.02-1.1 mu m have been studied on glass, Ar plasma cleaned glass, and PDMS coated glass substrates. The results show that the substrate properties play an important role in determining the final dried patterns formed by the colloidal particles. Our observations also reveal that particle size and contact angle formed by the solvent in the dispersion determine how close to the contact line the particles can be deposited. It is found that smaller particles can move closer to the deposited contact line than particles with bigger sizes. This study can serve as a realistic experimental model system for a number of fundamental queries on how the final deposition microstructure depends on the ink formulation and substrate properties. The knowledge obtained here can be explored further to optimize process parameters for the fabrication of hybrid solar cells with improved morphology and device properties. [DOI: 10.1115/1.4001470]