3D Printed High Performance Silver Mesh for Transparent Glass Heaters through Liquid Sacrificial Substrate Electric-Field-Driven Jet

Transparent glass with metal mesh is considered a promising strategy for high performance transparent glass heaters (TGHs). However, the realization of simple, low-cost manufacture of high performance TGHs still faces great challenges. Here, a technique for the fabrication of high performance TGHs is proposed using liquid sacrificial substrate electric-field-driven (LS-EFD) microscale 3D printing of thick film silver paste. The liquid sacrificial substrate not only significantly improves the aspect ratio (AR) of silver mesh, but also plays a positive role in printing stability. The fabricated TGHs with a line width of 35 mu m, thickness of 12.3 mu m, and pitch of 1000 mu m exhibit a desirable optoelectronic performance with sheet resistance (R-s) of 0.195 Omega sq(-1) and transmittance (T) of 88.97%. A successful deicing test showcases the feasibility and practicality of the manufactured TGHs. Moreover, an interface evaporator is developed for the coordination of photothermal and electrothermal systems based on the high performance TGHs. The vapor generation rate of the device reaches 10.69 kg m(-2) h(-1) with a voltage of 2 V. The proposed technique is a promising strategy for the cost-effective and simple fabrication of high performance TGHs.

Automated summary

This study proposes a technique using liquid sacrificial substrate electric-field-driven microscale 3D printing for the fabrication of high performance transparent glass heaters (TGHs). The manufactured TGHs exhibit desirable optoelectronic performance and deicing capability, making them suitable for photothermal and electrothermal systems.