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Abstract The electronics industry is rapidly advancing toward the development of highly miniaturized sensors and circuits, driving an increasing demand for precise, localized manufacturing techniques. Extrusion-based additive manufacturing—particularly direct ink writing—has emerged as a promising method for fabricating microscale electronic components. Recent efforts have focused on producing fine-resolution structures capable of conformal deposition on complex or uneven surfaces. While prior studies have established theoretical models for the trajectory of non-conductive material jets under electric fields—demonstrating feasibility in printing high-resolution features—a theoretical framework for conductive ink behavior under similar conditions remains lacking. This study introduces a theoretical model to describe the behavior of conductive jet extrusion under varying electrostatic forces. The model is validated through high-speed physical and manufacturing experiments using poly(3,4-ethylene-dioxythiophene)-based ink. The results demonstrate that the application of an external electric field significantly broadens the printable window, enabling: (i) high-speed printing up to 1.7 m/s with successful deposition on rough textile substrates (average surface roughness Ra = 8 µm), and (ii) the formation of micro-sized lines with widths as small as ∼60% of the nozzle's inner diameter (e.g., 300 µm-wide lines printed using a 500 µm diameter nozzle). 

Electrowetting and wettability-driven spreading of liquids on porous and nonporous substrates was investigated using impact of drops of epoxy resin, epoxy hardener, and epoxy resin and hardener, as well as silicone and turpentine oils with oil-soluble aniline dyes onto balsa wood and polypropylene surfaces. The experimental results revealed that the electric field stretched drops of epoxy resin, epoxy hardener, and epoxy resin and hardener after impact on polypropylene substrate in the long-term. The spreading of drops of epoxy resin and turpentine oil with dyes after impact onto porous balsa wood under the action of a 10 kV applied voltage was relatively weak. In addition, the measured footprint areas corresponding to drops of epoxy resin, epoxy hardener, and epoxy resin and hardener demonstrated a significant increase in the wetted areas driven by the applied voltage of 10 kV on polypropylene substrate, whereas on balsa wood, the footprint is practically unaffected by the electric field. Furthermore, it was determined that surface wettability was the main mechanism of spreading of epoxy resin, as well as silicone and turpentine oils with aniline dyes on porous balsa without the electric field applied. On the other hand, insufficient concentration of ions and counterions in silicone oil was responsible for the absence of electrohydrodynamic effects after impact of such drops onto porous balsa substrate subjected to high potentials of 7 and 10 kV. Hence, wettability-driven spreading with imbibition on balsa wood was the only reason for an increase in the wetted area in the case of silicone oil. 

Experimental observations of drops of water with aniline dye softly located or impacting onto balsa wood substrates were used to elucidate the effect of an in-plane electric field (at a high voltage of 10 kV applied) on drop behavior. The top and side views were recorded simultaneously. The short-term recordings (on the scale of a few ms) demonstrated a slight effect of the applied in-plane electric field. In some trials, a greater number of finger-like structures were observed along the drop rim compared to the trials without voltage applied. These fingers developed during the advancing motion of the drop rim. The long-term recording (on the scale of ∼10 s) was used to evaluate the wettability-driven increase in the area-equivalent radius of the wetted area. These substrates had grooves in the inter-electrode or the cross-field directions. The groove directions affected the wettability-driven spreading and imbibition. The wettability-driven spreading in the long term was a much more significant effect than the effect of the electric field, because the imbibition significantly diminished the drop part above the porous surface, which diminished, in turn, the electric Maxwell stresses, which could stretch the drop. A simplified analytical model was developed to measure the moisture transport coefficient responsible for liquid imbibition in these experiments. Furthermore, the phase-field modeling of drops on balsa was used to illustrate how a change in the contact angle from hydrophobic to hydrophilic triggers drop imbibition into balsa wood.