Nanomaterial-Based Inkjet Printing for Electrochemical Sensing

Area of Science:

• Materials Science
• Electrochemistry
• Nanotechnology

Background:

• Inkjet printing (IJP) is a key technology for fabricating printed and flexible electronics, particularly for electrode engineering in (bio)chemical sensing.
• IJP allows maskless, additive deposition with high precision, uniformity, and material efficiency at the picoliter scale.

Purpose of the Study:

• To provide a comprehensive overview of IJP as a platform for fabricating and functionalizing electrochemical working electrodes and fully printed devices.
• To integrate advances in ink formulation, jetting, and substrate interactions with performance metrics for printed electrodes.
• To highlight the advantages of IJP over traditional methods like drop-casting and screen-printing.

Main Methods:

• Review of advancements in inkjet printing technology for electrode fabrication.
• Integration of ink formulation, jetting behavior, and substrate interactions with performance metrics.
• Comparative analysis of IJP with drop-casting and screen-printing techniques.
• Emphasis on nanomaterial- and bioink-based systems, including carbon nanomaterials, MXenes, and hybrid inks.

Main Results:

• IJP demonstrates superior reproducibility, scalability, and material economy compared to drop-casting and screen-printing.
• Controlled deposition using IJP is crucial for the functionality of electrodes based on nanomaterials and bioinks.
• Emerging opportunities include hybrid architectures, reactive printing, and sustainable approaches with biodegradable substrates and water-based inks.

Conclusions:

• Inkjet printing is an enabling framework for the next generation of intelligent, reproducible, and sustainable sensing technologies.
• IJP facilitates automated, digitally controlled, and environmentally responsible manufacturing of customizable sensors.
• Applications span wearable, biomedical, food, and environmental monitoring.