Numerical Simulation of Solvent Evaporation in a Reactive Silver Ink Droplet Deposited on a Heated Substrate

Understanding the movement of silver ions (Ag⁺) in the solvent of a thermally evaporated particle-free reactive silver ink droplet is essential for optimizing the electronic inkjet printing process. In this work, a numerical study based on the Navier-Stokes equations is used to examine the microflows inside the evaporating solvent of a reactive silver ink droplet and to predict the morphology of the resultant Ag particle aggregations that form during the heat-activated processes. The droplet evaporation of the water-ethylene glycol ink solvent (H₂O-(CH₂OH)₂) is simulated using COMSOL Multiphysics software. The model assumes that the evaporating fluid is heterogeneous due to the mass transfer of ethylene glycol molecules throughout the droplet by capillary flow. A layer of concentrated ethylene glycol forms at the fluid-substrate interface during solvent evaporation if the substrate is heated. The concentrated ethylene glycol molecules are then transported inward by the capillary action, and the resultant Ag particles, arising from the thermally driven reactions, accumulate at the bottom center of the drying droplet. The numerical simulations demonstrate that the droplet evaporation process depends on the water concentration in the solvent, substrate temperature, surface tension, and natural convection. Furthermore, the capillary flow dominates the fluid flow inside the evaporating droplet, causing some Ag particles to accumulate at the contact line, the commonly observed "coffee-ring effect". The results provide new insights into the chemical reactions that produce experimentally observed silver particle aggregations during the reactive silver ink droplet evaporation process and help establish realistic process parameters for improving the quality of inkjet-printed conductive silver films and electronic circuit microtraces.