A Novel Polymeric Substrate with Dual-Porous Structures for High-Performance Inkjet-Printed Flexible Electronic Devices

Inkjet printing has emerged as a promising low-cost and high-performance method for manufacturing printing-based devices. However, the development of optimized substrates for inkjet printing using novel materials is limited. In this study, a novel polymeric substrate optimized for flexible electronic devices is fabricated using thin-film processing and phase inversion of polyethersulfone (PES). The PES film consists of two layers of pores; the upper layer has nano-sized pores that filter the nanoparticles in the conductive ink and allow for high-density aggregation on the substrate, while the lower layer contains micro-scale pores that quickly absorb and drain the ink solvent. The two porous structures lead to higher conductivity and high-resolution printed patterns by minimizing solvent lateral diffusion. Additionally, the PES printing substrate can undergo high-temperature curing of metal nanoparticles, enabling high-resolution pattern printing with low resistance. The PES substrate is highly transparent and flexible, allowing for the fabrication of various printed electronic patterns and the production of high-performance flexible electronic devices.

Automated summary

In this study, a novel polymeric substrate optimized for flexible electronic devices was fabricated using thin-film processing and phase inversion of polyethersulfone (PES). This substrate consists of two layers of pores, with nano-sized pores in the upper layer to filter nanoparticles in conductive ink and micro-scale pores in the lower layer to absorb and drain ink solvent. These two porous structures lead to higher conductivity and high-resolution printed patterns. The PES substrate can also undergo high-temperature curing of metal nanoparticles, enabling low resistance high-resolution pattern printing.