The Slot-Die Coating of Self-Healing Dielectric Materials for the Next Generation of Smart Sensors.

Printed electronics (PEs) have attracted a lot of attention over the past decades. The ability to formulate inorganic or organic materials into functional inks with the capacity to be printed onto various substrates presents many advantages, including the capability to be stretchable and conformable, and the potential to be cheaper than current electronics. Therefore, PEs have an enormous promise for enabling novel technologies in a broad range of applications. In a short time, many major advances have been made in this field, including, through the synthesis of conductive polymers, preparation of materials with self-healing properties, and synthesis of stretchable conductors. This project focuses on the printing of a new self-healing dielectric material, previously developed in our group, on a polyethylene terephthalate (PET) substrate through slot-die coating. By paying special attention to environmental impact and compatibility for industrial production, the deposition of this new electroactive material was performed through the control of numerous variables to develop a robust and reliable procedure for the printing of future electronics. Each parameter was individually adjusted, and the resulting films were completely characterized using multiple techniques. This paper will focus on the importance of printed electronics for the development of new technologies, and results from an in-depth characterization will be presented. Moreover, the utilization of the self-healing dielectric materials in fully printed sensors will also be discussed