Many-body dissipative particle dynamics simulations of nanodroplet formation in 3D nano-inkjet printing

Nanodroplet formation is a critical process in the development of 3D nano-inkjet printing. We show that many-body dissipative particle dynamics (MDPD) can be used to predict nanodroplet formation in nanosized nozzles with good accuracy. A conversion methodology is also introduced to overcome the problem of large coarse-graining factor, which results in unphysical results when the simulation is scaled up to real units. Using our MDPD model and the new conversion methodology, insights into possible trends of physical quantities in nanodroplet formation of polymeric ultraviolet ink can be gained. It was found that higher temperature and applied pressure reduce droplet break-up time. In addition, higher temperature increases the droplets' diameter while higher effective pressure reduces it. These findings suggest that the physical environment can be tuned to achieve the desired droplet properties for 3D nano-inkjet printing. Due to the technical challenges that impedes experimental testing, this work demonstrates that MDPD provides a low-cost alternative to study nanodroplet formation in 3D nano-inkjet printing. (paper)