title: Inkjet printing of reinforcing patterns for the mechanical stabilization of fragile polymeric microsieves.
abstract: Inkjet printing is employed to apply a mechanically stable reinforcing pattern to polymeric microsieves prepared by float casting, where particles are used as molds for the pores. A mixture of silica particles and nonvolatile monomers is cast onto a water surface and subsequently photopolymerized to produce membranes consisting of a polymer film with embedded particles. These composite membranes are transferred onto an aluminum foil. Subsequently, a UV-curable ink is directly inkjet-printed onto the membranes in line patterns of grids or honeycombs and cured by UV radiation to create a mechanically reinforcing pattern. Afterwards, the particles and the aluminum foil are removed by chemical etching. The reinforcing pattern overcasts 40% of the previously manufactured membrane, is mechanically stable, and gives the microsieves such a robustness that they can be handled in further manufacturing processes.
authors.affiliation: Institute for Print and Media Technology, Chemnitz University of Technology, Reichenhainer Str. 70, 09126 Chemnitz, Germany.
authors.forename: Jens
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Hammerschmidt
authors.forename: Franziska M
authors.initials: FM
authors.lastname: Wolf
authors.forename: Werner A
authors.initials: WA
authors.lastname: Goedel
authors.forename: Reinhard R
authors.initials: RR
authors.lastname: Baumann