title: Inkjet printing as a tool for the patterned deposition of octadecylsiloxane monolayers on silicon oxide surfaces.
abstract: We present a case study about inkjet printing as a tool for molecular patterning of silicon oxide surfaces with hydrophobic functionality, mediated by n-octadecyltrichlorosilane (OTS) molecules. In contrast to state-of-the-art techniques such as micro contact printing or chemical immersion with subsequent lithography processes, piezo drop-on-demand inkjet printing does not depend on physical masters, which allows an effective direct-write patterning of rigid or flexible substrates and enables short run-lengths of the individual pattern. In this paper, we used mesithylene-based OTS inks, jetted them in droplets of 10 pL on a silicon oxide surface, evaluated the water contact angle of the patterned areas and fitted the results with Cassie's law. For inks of 2.0 mM OTS concentration, we found that effective area coverages of 38% can be obtained. Our results hence show that contact times of the order of hundred milliseconds are sufficient to form a pattern of regions with OTS molecules adsorbed to the surface, representing at least a fragmented, inhomogeneous self-assembled OTS monolayer (OTS-SAM).
authors: Chemnitz University of Technology, Center for Nanostructured Materials and Analytics (nanoMA), 09107 Chemnitz, Germany.
authors: Christian
authors: C
authors: Belgardt
authors: Enrico
authors: E
authors: Sowade
authors: Thomas
authors: T
authors: Blaudeck
authors: Thomas
authors: T
authors: Baumgärtel
authors: Harald
authors: H
authors: Graaf
authors: Christian
authors: C
authors: von Borczyskowski
authors: Reinhard R
authors: RR
authors: Baumann
mesh_terms: D057927:Hydrophobic and Hydrophilic Interactions; D007281:Ink; D010316:Particle Size; D011327:Printing; D012822:Silicon Dioxide / Q000737:chemistry*; D012833:Siloxanes / Q000737:chemistry*; D013499:Surface Properties
chemical_list: D012833:Siloxanes; D012822:Silicon Dioxide