A Charge‐Based Mechanistic Study into the Effect of Collector Temperature on Melt Electrohydrodynamic Printing Outcomes

• DOI: 10.1002/admt.202100251
• Publication Date: 2021-05-26T18:20:38Z
• Authors: Kai Cao; Fucheng Zhang; Ahmadreza Zaeri; Ralf Zgeib; Robert C. Chang
• Keywords: Microscale chemistry; Electrohydrodynamics; Printed Electronics

Abstract Melt electrowriting (MEW) is an emerging additive process for high‐fidelity, microscale fibrous scaffold fabrication. However, achieving precise multilayered MEW‐enabled scaffolds limited by the entrapped residual charges owing to charge‐based mechanisms. Specifically, semi‐conductive nature of processed materials causes retainment net positive and jet–fiber repulsion, while exposure electric field yields charge polarization with resultant attraction. These competing effects work in tandem determine distinctive features interaction. To deconstruct various charge‐related phenomena, collector temperature manipulated as a key variable investigate its effect on printing outcomes two modes. Moreover, energy analysis introduced explain how affects extent, along interaction outcomes. In single fiber mode, sets parallel fibers set interfiber distances ( sS f ) are printed at different temperatures. At low threshold, significant attraction observed, but no difference observed among cases 200‐layer temperatures, wall morphologies found vary location, layer number, temperature.