Polymer Based Continuous Offset Printing Joey Mead and Carol Barry NSF Center for High-rate Nanomanufacturing and Plastics Engineering, University or Massachusetts Lowell 1 University Avenue, Lowell, MA, USA, joey_mead@uml.edu ABSTRACT Polymeric materials have tremendous potential for nano and micro-structured products because of their fabrication ease and wide property range. In contrast to other manufacturing approaches, fabrication processes for polymers are cost-effective and rapid. This work presents novel manufacturing approaches for the incorporation of nano/microscale functionality that are environmentally friendly (melt-based), industrially relevant, and can be transferred to a continuous offset printing based process. Nano or micro-structured surfaces with patterns of different polymers or nanoparticles can be made with directed assembly and transfer to a polymer substrate. The integration of template directed assembly of conducting polymers or nanoparticles into nanoscale patterns followed by transfer to a polymer substrate using a continous roll to roll process provides a method to prepare unique structures for flexible electronic devices, metamaterials, structural nanocomposites, icephobic surfaces or biocompatible materials. The work will present offset printing of conducting nanoelements, the fabrication of metamaterials for near-IR and microwave, and the effect of polymer type on the transfer efficiency. This process can be coupled with nanoscale embossing using our two-stage roll to roll line. Substrate materials can include designer nanocomposites (thermoplastic polymers with nanoclays, CNTs, silver nanoparticles, etc.) by integrating a roll-to-roll processes with continuous, melt based twin-screw extrusion. Keywords: directed assembly, roll to roll, nanocomposites 1 INTRODUCTION The transfer of nanoscience discoveries into commercial products would enable the development of lighter weight materials, smaller sensors, improved medical products, and smaller electronic devices. For fabrication of these devices novel manufacturing approaches are needed that are flexible, rapid, and easily integrated into industrially relevant manufacturing processes. Nanomanufacturing processes have emerged in many areas, such as polymer nanocomposites electronics [1], , and biological systems. [2], Polymer materials are attractive for many applications because they can be processed with high rate fabrication methods at relatively low temperatures, are lightweight and can have a range of material properties. Processing methods include injection molding, compounding with fillers, extrusion processes and continuous roll to roll processing approaches. Thus, polymers can be easily adapted to many nanomanufacturing processes. These nanomanufacturing approaches include injection molding of nanoscale features, twin screw extrusion to form nanocomposites [3] , and multi- layer films by extrusion [4],[5],[6] . For some applications there is a need to pattern two polymers (polymer blends) into controlled micro and nanoscale morphologies using directed assembly [7],[8],[9] . Directed assembly of nanoelements (e.g. conducting polymers [10] , nanotubes [11] ) followed by transfer to a polymer allows for preparation of unique structures, such as conducting polymers on an insulating polymer substrate for metamaterials or flexible electronics. A continuous process for directed assembly and transfer can be considered as a nanoscale offset printing process. Other nanomanufacturing processes can be used to prepare unique substrates for the offset printing process. 2 POLYMER OFFSET PRINTING 2.1 Printing of nanoscale structures Nanopatterned polymers can be used for applications such as biosensors [12] , and templates for nanolithography. [13] These applications often require nonuniform patterned polymer geometries, as may be needed in layouts for integrated circuits [14] or metamaterials. Polymer blends offer unique advantages for these applications, since blending two commercially available polymers offers a wide range of materials and may be cost efficient. Ease of patterning non-uniform geometries and fabrication of multiple length scale patterns on a single substrate (or operation) are additional advantages. The blends can be either patterned in a two step process, where the polymer is assembled first, followed by a transfer step to a secondary polymer substrate or a polymer blend solution can be patterned directly onto chemically functionalized substrates. Alternatively, a nanoelement, such as a conducting polymer , carbon nanotubes, or nanoparticles can be patterned and then transferred to a secondary polymer substrate. This method allows transfer to a wide range of thermoplastic polymer substrates. In the two step process, a nanoelement, such as carbon nanotubes or conducting polymers, is patterned using CTSI-Cleantech 2014, www.ct-si.org, ISBN 978-1-4822-5819-6 285