Interplay between electrical and rheological properties of viscoelastic inks

We investigated the effect of the interaction between the electrical and rheological properties of the ink in electrodydrodynamic (EHD) printing process by designing model systems that control both the electrical conductivity and the viscoelasticity of the ink to observe how they affect the Taylor cone jet formation. The results demonstrate that the initial voltage at which the Taylor cone jet first appears and the final voltage at which the jet becomes unstable increase at higher electrical conductivity as the conical shape with large surface area is formed and grants stability at higher conductivity. Increased viscosity and elasticity also lead to the similar result: increase in the initial and final voltages, which can be attributed to the slower charge transport that minimizes the stabilizing effect of the inks’ electrical conductivity. In addition, we use two dimensionless variables (dimensionless flow rate and dimensionless voltage) to make an operating window map of the EHD process. Through this map, the processing condition for the Taylor cone jet zone can be predicted with respect to the effect of the interplay between the electrical and rheological properties of the ink.