I am printing organic semiconductors like PEDOT:PSS.For ordinary Epson printers nozzle diameter is 20 micron.Again for material deposition printers like DMP 2800,nozzle diameter is also 20 micron.Still when I try to print organics,the printer is clogging.
So in which cases a printer can clog?
There are many possible reasons:
_ Your solvent boiling point is to low, it evaporates beforethe complete jetting of the droplet.
_ In your case, I think PEDOT-PSS is an high Mw polymer, so it is really difficult to jet. Try to find a low Mw polymer tipicaly
Inks for ink jet printers have been developped specifically for this purpose, good IJ inks take years to develop and make robust. PEDOT:PSS is a dispersion that is not stable over tim in terms of dispersion. Films procured from the ink may of course still work in terms of conductivity and transparency, but it is not a good material for an IJ ink. There you need a stable ink. There may of course be issues with the ink itself interacting anf fouling your head and nozzles, PEDOT:PSS is a strongly acidic and reactive ink.
I'm agree with Pr. Krebs. PEDOT-PSS is not adaptated for an accurate Inkjet printing!
I have not much experience but there are so many references to printable pedot:pss ink-like Clevios or Orgacon,surely some amount can be printed?
I think you should dilute your PEDOT ink a bit, if you are using the P4083 model as I do. I can reliably print this on my printer, though not on Dimatix. And I agree with Dr. Krebs, that you should check out the Clevios PEDOT family, they have formulations specifically designed for ink-jet printing, like, I can easily print P500 without diluting, but when printing P1000, there is a lot of clogging.
Several problems could cause nozzle clogging, and it is not clear when/how clogging occours. I agree with previous comments, especially about stbility of PEDOT:PSS (it depends also on formulation) and about surface tension (also rehology of the ink is really important). I have no direct experience in PEDOT:PSS IJ printing, however what I suggest is to filter (any) inks before printing, use them freshly and do not store them overnight in the inkjet reservour/head (or use countinuous firing).
Another point s printing head type; Epson head should be piezo and not thermal, however check also this aspect.
This problem may be due to many reasons.
The most important among them would be the B.P. of the solvent used.
Improper filtration might be another cause.
The nozzle diameter should be greater if the raw material is nano-particle based(diameter of nozzle should be very much greater than the particle diameter).
Viscosity of the printable material also play a key role in such problems. Generally the viscosity should be < 10 cP for printable inks.
Freshly prepared inks with proper filtration and the viscosity in the prescribed limits may give a very good output........... All the best
In order to print PEDOT:PSS aqueous solutions, it is important to carefully formulate the ink composition. I would recommend to introduce high-boiling point cosolvents such as glycerol or ethyleneglycol at low concentrations in order to decrease clogging issue and facilitate ink deposition. Polymers tend to easily adsorb at channels surfaces- this leads to clogging quite easily, so introducing a cosolvent is fundamental.
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