An acrylate resin/perfluoropolyether film with enhanced hydrophobicity and lowered adhesion surface for precision printed electronics

Abstract Spontaneously patterned circuits are regarded as one of the most promising green manufacturing methods that are non-lithographic and mold-free, attracting increasing attention. Liquid-mimicking surfaces allow polar or non-polar liquids to slide easily on slightly inclined modified surfaces without residue, achieving liquid repulsion and self-cleaning functions. Combining the advantages of this sliding property with specific patterned physicochemical characteristics is expected to further enhance printing resolution. In this manuscript, we developed a heterogeneous composite film consisting of a UV-sensitive (2-nitro-1,4-phenylene)bis(methylene) diacrylate resin film (referred to as NBE) overlaid with a layer of hydrophobic perfluoropolyether (referred to as 507 A). The tunable surface property of the NBE resin film under UV light ( λ = 254 nm) irradiation enables the hydrophobic surface (with a water contact angle, WCA of 112°) of the composite film to a hydrophilic surface (with a WCA of 4°), allowing the formation of patterned wettability surface after light exposure. More importantly, the highly hydrophobic perfluoropolyether surface shows a low adhesive surface, which enables a cleaner surface in the hydrophobic area during printing. Angle-resolved x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy and atomic force microscopy tests revealed the differences in surface morphology and elemental distribution of the composite film before and after UV light exposure. In combination with a photomask, fine circuit structures with minimal line width/space of 5/5 μ m were successfully achieved. The printed circuit was used for carbon nanotube-based thin film transistors, which displayed charge carrier mobilities of 4.51 ± 1.63 cm 2 · s −1 · V −1 , demonstrating the practicality of this precision printing technique.