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Wereport about a detailed comparison of the additive manufacturingmethods inkjet printing (IJP) and aerosol jet printing (AJP). Bothtechnologies are based on the direct-writing approach enabling thenon-contact deposition of various materials in flexible patterns,e.g., for printed electronic applications. The deposited pattern elementswere classified as (i) drops (IJP) or splats (AJP), (ii) lines, and(iii) squares. These elements can be considered as basic elementsof the deposition systems and also of printed electronics. The patternelements were deposited with IJP and AJP using the same silver nanoparticleink. After printing, the layers were characterized regarding theirmorphology by optical and topographical measurement methods as wellas regarding their electrical characteristics. It turned out thatdrops deposited with IJP and splats deposited with AJP can have similardimensions. However, the shapes of the deposits differ widely. Inthe case of lines, AJP enables narrower line widths and thinner linethicknesses in comparison to IJP. In IJP, the line morphology variesdepending on the direction of the deposition. Finally, the morphologyof the deposited lines determines the electrical conductivity. Forprinted squares, the IJP layers show much higher layer thickness anda different layer topography compared with AJP as result of a highervolume per area deposition of materials. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A novel wearable electronic nose for armpit odor analysis is proposed by using a low-cost chemical sensor array integrated in a ZigBee wireless communication system. We report the development of a carbon nanotubes (CNTs)/polymer sensor array based on inkjet printing technology. With this technique both composite-like layer and actual composite film of CNTs/polymer were prepared as sensing layers for the chemical sensor array. The sensor array can response to a variety of complex odors and is installed in a prototype of wearable e-nose for monitoring the axillary odor released from human body. The wearable e-nose allows the classification of different armpit odors and the amount of the volatiles released as a function of level of skin hygiene upon different activities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The properties and applications of Ag nanowires (AgNWs) are closely related to their morphology and composition. Therefore, controlling the growth process of AgNWs is of great significance for technological applications and fundamental research. Here, silver nanowires (AgNWs) were synthesized via a typical polyol method with the synergistic effect of Cl - , Br - , and Fe 3+ mediated agents. The synergistic impact of these mediated agents was investigated intensively, revealing that trace Fe 3+ ions provided selective etching and hindered the strong etching effect from Cl - and Br - ions. Controlling this synergy allowed the obtainment of highly uniform AgNWs with sub-30 nm diameter and an aspect ratio of over 3000. Transparent conductive films (TCFs) based on these AgNWs without any post-treatment showed a very low sheet resistance of 4.7 Ω sq -1 , a low haze of 1.08% at a high optical transmittance of 95.2% (at 550 nm), and a high figure of merit (FOM) of 1210. TCFs exhibited a robust electrical performance with almost unchanged resistance after 2500 bending cycles. These excellent high-performance characteristics demonstrate the enormous potential of our AgNWs in the field of flexible and transparent materials., Competing Interests: The authors declare no conflict of interest.