Inkjet printing as a fabrication method for hydrophobic surfaces

Inkjet printing is an ideal manufacturing method for challenging applications. It is compatible with many kinds of fluids and substrates and it enables accurate deposition of nonconventional inks. This paper presents the use of inkjet printing to fabricate hydrophobic surfaces. Hydrophobic surfaces are needed for example in diagnostic applications for screening purposes, but also other uses can be found. Inkjet printed hydrophobic surfaces have been demonstrated. Two different inks have been manufactured - one amorphous fluoropolymer (Teflon) and one polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) based - and inkjet printed on a polystyrene substrate. The first ink produced a contact angle of approximately 116° and the second one 108° thus indicating a hydrophobic surface. Several methods were also tested to increase the contact angle to near 180°, but most likely the high solvent content in the inks prevented this