Inkjet-Printed Multicolor Arrays of Highly Luminescent Nanocrystal-Based Nanocomposites

Inkjet technology is a compelling method for the flexible and cost-effective printing of functional inks. We show that nanocomposite solutions based on polystyrene and differently sized core/shell-type nanocrystals (NCs) formed by a CdSe core coated with a shell of ZnS (CdSe@ZnS) in a single solvent, chloroform, can be reliably dispensed into luminescent,multicolor pixel arrays. This study demonstrates the relevance of parameters like polymer concen- tration and nozzle diameter, highlighting how the optimal conditions to print NCs embedded in 5 wt% polystyrene nanocomposite are given by a 70-mm- diameter nozzle. The obtained structures show that the bright size-dependent emission of the NCs in the nanocomposite is retained in the printed pixels.