Printed Patterns Adhesion dependency on Contact Angle of Ink on Substrate

In this paper electro-statically inkjet printed pattern's adhesion is studied with respect to contact angle of ink on substrates. Contact angle of conductive ink on different substrates is measured with Image-Xp software. Ink has made different contact angles on different substrates. Pin to pin setup is used for printing patterns. Patterns are obtained by forcing ink through a small glass capillary orifice by electrostatic forces to adhere with substrate. It is investigated that contact angle has direct relationship with surface roughness of the substrate. Higher the contact angle of ink on a substrate, higher the adhesion on that substrate. After curing, adhesion of patterns with substrate is tested by 3M 610 pressure sensitive tape by following the ASTM D 3359 method B. Life of printed patterns and its stability on different substrates can be evaluated by this study. From this study optimized properties of ink and substrate combination can be obtained. Index Term-Adhesion, ASTM D3359 B, Contact angle, Pressure sensitive tape, RMS