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DESIGN, ASSEMBLY AND CHARACTERIZATION OF COMPOSITE ...

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4.3. Results and Discussion<br />

4.3.1. Dispersant Selection and Concentration Determination<br />

PEI-25K at a concentration of 2mg/(g Ni powder) yields a lowest apparent ηapp,<br />

and is selected for nickel ink preparation. The ηapp of each sample at shear rate γ� = 1 s -1 is<br />

shown in Figure 4.2. The lines have no significance beyond a guide to connect the<br />

measured data points. PEI-25K and PEI-50K demonstrate similar ηapp dependence on PEI<br />

concentration, whereas the PEI-2K has a significantly higher ηapp below concentrations<br />

of about 4mg/g. This behavior is likely due to an inability of the small PEI-2K to form a<br />

sufficiently thick steric layer to overcome attractive van der Waals forces between<br />

particles until more than monolayer coverage is achieved. The minimum of ηapp = 10.3<br />

Pa⋅s at 2mg/g for PEI-25K is taken to be the appropriate concentration. It should be noted,<br />

that without any PEI additions, the viscosity of Ni suspensions is too high for practical<br />

handling in the Robocasting process. Figure 4.3 shows the morphology and size<br />

distribution of the Ni particles used. The 5µm scale bar shows that there are no particles<br />

above 2.5µm in this powder and the range of particle size extends well below 1µm. The<br />

manufacturer reported average particle size of 0.8µm appears valid.<br />

119

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