Patterning electrospun nanofiber mats for screen printing and other applications

Abstract

The large mesh size of the currently used screen stencils may limit the resolution of patterns that are created via screen printing. Electrospun nanofiber mats (ENMs) have mesh sizes down to hundreds of nanometers but have not been used for screen printing. Reported herein is the patterning by photolithography of ENMs into water-absorbing and water-repellent regions and the use of the resultant mats as screen stencils. The stencils allow the selective permeation of water-borne inks through the hydrophilic patterns, yielding on paper a text and picture that are of a much higher quality than those possible from a commercial screen printing kit. A partial electric circuit is also printed using silver nanoparticles in water. Aside from screen printing, the patterned mats are also used directly as scaffolds for an electric circuit and for pH and glucose sensors.