Process of fabricating a beaded path on the surface of a substrate, a system for fabricating such a path, use thereof, and a kit

Abstract

The invention relates to a process of fabricating a beaded path on the surface of a substrate, the process comprising: preparing a dispersion of particles in a liquid; supplying the prepared dispersion to at least one electrically conductive microcapillary in a continuous manner; forming and maintaining a convex meniscus of the dispersion at the outlet end of the microcapillary positioned above and/or below the surface of a substrate; applying alternating voltage to the microcapillary so that a beaded structure is formed between the dispersion meniscus and the surface of the substrate; and moving the microcapillary relative to the substrate and/or the substrate relative to the microcapillary so as to deposit the particles of the formed beaded structure on the surface of the substrate and simultaneously rebuild the beaded structure formed between the dispersion meniscus and the surface of a substrate. The invention also relates to a system for realizing this process and the use of the beaded path fabricated in accordance with the process of the invention for the production of electrodes in photovoltaic cells, new generation clothing, electronic components, including flexible electronics, artificial flagella, photonic and optomechanical materials, as well as for the regeneration of damaged paths on the surface of a substrate. The present invention also relates to a kit comprising a substrate and a beaded path fabricated on the surface of that substrate according to this process. The invented process is simple, efficient, hence economical, and enables fabricating beaded paths that retain their properties after turning off the voltage initially used to form a beaded structure. Moreover, the process occurs outside a liquid environment and enables fabricating of paths in a continuous manner, that is, through the formation of the beaded structure and its simultaneous depositing on the surface of a substrate allowing the fabrication of beaded paths of arbitrary length.

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.