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Muller Nicolas

Professeur HES associé

Main skills

Optical and Electron Microscopy

Professeur HES associé

Phone: +41 26 429 66 45

Haute école d'ingénierie et d'architecture de Fribourg
Boulevard de Pérolles 80, 1700 Fribourg, CH

Institute
iPrint - Institut de printing

Professeur HES associé

Haute école de gestion de Fribourg
Chemin du Musée 4, 1700 Fribourg, CH

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Completed

The Inkjet Training

AGP

Role: Collaborator

Requérant(e)s: FR - EIA - Institut IPRINT, Bircher Fritz, FR - EIA - Institut IPRINT

Financement: Divers

Description du projet : A Hands-on Lab-based Course in Inkjet Engineering and Inkjet Chemistry.

, , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , Research team within HES-SO: Caldi Jonathan Wenger Raphaël Bourguet Florian Kolly Gaëtan Bircher Fritz Filliger Sebastian Huber Benjamin Renner Johannes Mauron Muriel Kessler Philip Soutrenon Mathieu Murith Loïc Schneuwly Vincent Varisco Massimo Kuhlmann Martin Muller Nicolas Jemmely Yannick Gugler Anne Carrie Natalia Ilano Céline

Partenaires académiques: FR - EIA - Institut IPRINT; Bircher Fritz, FR - EIA - Institut IPRINT

Durée du projet: 31.08.2015 - 31.12.2020

Montant global du projet: 332'965 CHF

Statut: Completed

2024

Multimaterial inkjet printing of mechanochromic materials

Scientific paper ArODES

Muriel Mauron, Lucie Castens Vitanov, César Michaud, Raphaël Wenger, Nicolas Muller, Roseline Nussbaumer, Céline Calvino, Christoph Weder, Stephen Schrettl, Gilbert Gugler, Derek John Kiebala

The European Physical Journal Special Topics, 2024

Link to the publication

Summary:

Inkjet printing technology achieves the precise deposition of liquid-phase materials via the digitally controlled formation of picoliter-sized droplets. Beyond graphical printing, inkjet printing has been employed for the deposition of separated drops on surfaces or the formation of continuous layers, which allows to construct materials gradients or periodic features that provide enhanced functionalities. Here, we explore the use of multinozzle, drop-on-demand piezoelectric inkjet technology for the manufacturing of mechanochromic materials, i.e., materials that change their color or fluorescence in response to mechanical deformation. To accomplish this, suitable polyurethane polymers of differing hardness grades were tested with a range of organic solvents to formulate low-viscosity, inkjet-printable solutions. Following their rheological characterization, two solutions comprising “soft” and “hard” polyurethanes were selected for in-depth study. The solutions were imbibed with a mechanochromic additive to yield fluorescent inks, which were either dropcast onto polymeric substrates or printed to form checkerboard patterns of alternating hardness using a laboratory-built, multimaterial inkjet platform. Fluorescence imaging and spectroscopy were used to identify different hardness grades in the dropcast and printed materials, as well as to monitor the responses of these gradient materials to mechanical deformation. The insights gained in this study are expected to facilitate the development of inkjet-printable, mechanochromic polymer materials for a wide range of applications.

2022

Inkjet printing of structurally colored self-assembled colloidal aggregates

Scientific paper ArODES

Pavel Yazhgur, Nicolas Muller, Frank Scheffold

ACS Photonics, 2022

Link to the publication

Summary:

Structurally colored materials offer increased stability, high biocompatibility, and a large variety of colors, which can hardly be reached simultaneously using conventional chemical pigments. However, for practical applications, such as inkjet printing, it is vital to compartmentalize these materials in small building blocks (with sizes ideally below 5 μm) and create “ready-to-use” inks. The latter can be achieved by using photonic balls (PB): spherical aggregates of nanoparticles. Here, we demonstrate, for the first time, how photonic ball dispersions can be used as inkjet printing inks. We use solvent drying techniques to manufacture structurally colored colloidal aggregates. The as-fabricated photonic balls are dispersed in pentanol to form ink. A custom-made inkjet printing platform equipped with an industrial printhead and recirculation fluidic system is used to print complex structurally colored patterns. We increase color purity and suppress multiple scattering by introducing carbon black as a broadband light absorber.

2021

Scattering from controlled defects in woodpile photonic crystals

Scientific paper ArODES

Stefan Aeby, Geoffroy J. Aubry, Nicolas Muller, Frank Scheffold

Advanced Optical Materials, 2021, article no. e2001699

Link to the publication

Summary:

Photonic crystals display partial or full band gaps that become more pronounced with rising refractive index contrast. However, imperfections in the material cause light scattering and extinction of the interfering propagating waves. Positive as well as negative defect volumes may contribute to this kind of optical perturbation. In this study, 3D woodpile photonic crystals are fabricated and characterized with a pseudo‐bandgap for near‐infrared optical wavelengths. By direct laser writing, defects are introduced in the periodic structure at selected positions. It is shown that defect scattering can be modeled by considering the difference between the disordered and the regular structure. The findings pave the way toward better control and understanding of the role of defects in photonic materials that will be crucial for their usability in potential applications.

2023

Printing structurally colored photonic materials

Conference ArODES

Pavel Yazhgur, Nicolas Muller, Sandrine Aeby, Abraham Aguilar Uribe, Frank Scheffold

Proceedings Bioinspiration, Biomimetics, and Bioreplication XIII ; Proceeeings of SPIE Smart Structures + Nondestructive Evaluation, 12-17 March 2023, Long Beach, CA, USA

Link to the conference

Summary:

The advantage of structurally colored materials is their stability and the fact that they can be sourced sustainably. In addition to the challenges of producing high-quality colors, fabrication and patterning are also important issues. Different printing processes are available depending on the area of application. In this paper, we report on recent advances in the fabrication of structurally disordered photonic materials by patterning self-assembled color pigments using inkjet printing and by direct laser writing.

2021

Printing and generating structural colors by means of inkjet technology

Conference ArODES

Nicolas Muller, Pavel Yazghur, Frank Scheffold, Gilbert Gugler

Proceedings of European Coating Symposium (ECS) 2021, 7-9 September 2021, Brussels, Belgium

Link to the conference

Summary:

In the context of Industry 4.0, inkjet technology has the unrivaled advantage of being digital and versatile by its nature. The recent breakthrough in the understanding of structurally colored materials provides new design platforms for pigments in a variety of applications. An appealing approach is the design of photonic pigments for inkjet printing. However, inkjet technology imposes strict limitations with respect to pigment size. Here we show the deposition and the fabrication of photonic pigments by inkjet technology.

Long distance jetting :

Conference ArODES

digital printing on non-planar shapes

Olivier Bürgy, Nicolas Muller, Natalia Carrie, Gilbert Gugler, Yoshinori Domae

Proceedings of European Coating Symposium (ECS) 2021, 7-9 September 2021, Brussels, Belgium

Link to the conference

Summary:

The inkjet printing technology plays a major role in the digital printing field. Having the possibility to digitally and selectively print or coat areas offers a great advantage. Usually inkjet was limited to flat substrates but nowadays with modern printheads and advanced waveform tuning, it is possible to extend the jetting distance and print on non-planar shapes. This paper will compare different printheads and the strategies used to increase the jetting distance.

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PEOPLE@HES-SO
Directory and Skills inventory

Muller Nicolas

Professeur HES associé

Main skills

Inkjet

Lithographic Printing

Photonics

Particle Synthesis

Optical and Electron Microscopy

Spectroscopy

Professeur HES associé

Professeur HES associé

PEOPLE@HES-SO Directory and Skills inventory

Muller Nicolas

Professeur HES associé

Main skills

Inkjet

Lithographic Printing

Photonics

Particle Synthesis

Optical and Electron Microscopy

Spectroscopy

Professeur HES associé

Professeur HES associé

PEOPLE@HES-SO
Directory and Skills inventory