Development and Performance Evaluation of Stretchable Silver Pastes for Screen Printing on Thermoplastic Polyurethane Films
Round 1
Reviewer 1 Report
Nam and coworkers make a stretchable silver paste on polyurethane thermoplastic film. They choose three different sizes of silver flakes to evaluate the rheological, thermal, and surface properties. The systematic study gives insights into choosing the different sizes of the silver flake. I recommend accepting the paper before fixing the following questions:
1. figure numbers are wrong; please check all the numbers in the plot and text.
2. Figure 3 (first one) The font size is too small and hard to read. Please increase the font size to make it easy to read.
3. Please redraw the mechanism cartoon in Figure 3c (second one). All the chemical structures are rescaled and it is really hard to read.
4. Line 220, “Figure 68 illustrates the results from measuring the resistance change in the TPU films through a twist measurement (twist: 45°/45°).” I didn’t find Figure 68, and please check all the figure numbers carefully.
Author Response
- figure numbers are wrong; please check all the numbers in the plot and text.
- Modification completed.
- Figure 3 (first one) The font size is too small and hard to read. Please increase the font size to make it easy to read.
- Modification completed.
- Please redraw the mechanism cartoon in Figure 3c (second one). All the chemical structures are rescaled and it is really hard to read.
- Modification completed.
- Line 220, “Figure 68 illustrates the results from measuring the resistance change in the TPU films through a twist measurement (twist: 45°/45°).” I didn’t find Figure 68, and please check all the figure numbers carefully.
- Modification completed.
Author Response File: 
Author Response.docx
Reviewer 2 Report
Manuscript entitled “Development and performance evaluation of a stretchable silver paste for screen printing on thermoplastic polyurethane films” presents the results of development of a silver paste specifically designed for screen printing on thermoplastic polyurethane films.
The development of stretchable electrode patterns for wearable devices and stretchable printed circuit boards have been extensively research and the interest in this area is great due to the development of flexible electronics.
Although the topic is extremely interesting, this paper has a significant number of shortcomings that would need to be corrected before publication:
- the materials used are not sufficiently explained. It is not clear what the exact composition of the developed silver-based paste was. The composition is shown in Table 1, but the exact materials used (Fillers, Binders, Dispersants, Hardeners, Solvents) are not specified. This should be improved.
- the screen printing process is insufficiently explained. It is not described how the printing plate was made. It is not clear what "combination plate-making method" means. No features of the printing plate are listed, except for "250-mesh stainless steel mesh". It is necessary to specify the detailed properties of the mesh, since it is known that, depending on the properties of the mesh, a certain amount of ink/paste can be pressed onto the substrate. The amount and dimensions of silver particles in the paste also depend on this.
-devices for the conduction of the experimental part of the work are not specified, nor are the measurement conditions.
- the instructions for writing the paper were not followed, it is necessary to correct this.
- the manuscript contains a certain number of self-citations. References need to be rearranged.
- English needs to be corrected.
- the figures are blurry, too small and unreadable. The description in the figures does not match.
This manuscript needs significant correction before publication in Coatings.
English should be improved and corrected by a native speaker.
Author Response
- the materials used are not sufficiently explained. It is not clear what the exact composition of the developed silver-based paste was. The composition is shown in Table 1, but the exact materials used (Fillers, Binders, Dispersants, Hardeners, Solvents) are not specified. This should be improved.
: we used a high molecular weight saturated polyester resin(SKYBON ES-365:SK chemicals) with a molecular weight (Mw) of 40,000 and a Tg of 16°C. This resin is produced in sheet form due to its low Tg, unlike general polymers which are in pellet form. The resin was dissolved at a concentration of 50:50(gamma-butyrolactone:resin) wt% by stirring at 70°C for 24 hours. Initially, a blocked isocyanate-type curing agent (A/A6627, EONANOCHEM Co. Ltd., Korea) and a dispersing agent (DISPERBYK-180:BYK) were mixed, and then the silver powder was gradually added.
- the screen printing process is insufficiently explained. It is not described how the printing plate was made. It is not clear what "combination plate-making method" means. No features of the printing plate are listed, except for "250-mesh stainless steel mesh". It is necessary to specify the detailed properties of the mesh, since it is known that, depending on the properties of the mesh, a certain amount of ink/paste can be pressed onto the substrate. The amount and dimensions of silver particles in the paste also depend on this.
1) 250-mesh : wire diameter 28㎛, thickness 56㎛, opening 74㎛
-devices for the conduction of the experimental part of the work are not specified, nor are the measurement conditions.
1) the measurement conditions : 25℃
- the instructions for writing the paper were not followed, it is necessary to correct this.
- Modification completed.
- the manuscript contains a certain number of self-citations. References need to be rearranged.
- Modification completed.
- English needs to be corrected.
- Modification completed.
- the figures are blurry, too small and unreadable. The description in the figures does not match.
- Modification completed.
This manuscript needs significant correction before publication in Coatings.
Author Response File: Author Response.docx
Reviewer 3 Report
Dear authors, the following changes and clarifications must be made to the article before publication
1) How was it possible to achieve accuracy in measuring paste viscosity to the third decimal place?
2)How many viscosity measurements have been made? In Table 2 and Figure 3b, the standard deviation of the viscosity measurement should be added.
3)The conditions of the TGA - heating rate, atmosphere, should be specified.
4)Excellent printability of the paste should be proved by experimental data.
The text of the article should be carefully proofread.
Author Response
1) How was it possible to achieve accuracy in measuring paste viscosity to the third decimal place?
- Viscosity units are not 3 decimal places. ex) 488,900 cps
2)How many viscosity measurements have been made? In Table 2 and Figure 3b, the standard deviation of the viscosity measurement should be added.
- (1)Figure 3b : Average viscosity plotting data obtained by measurement.
- (2)Table 2. Deviations are reflected in the chart. Since the graph is converted to logarithmic values and displayed, the range cannot be expressed, so it is reflected only in the chart.
3)The conditions of the TGA - heating rate, atmosphere, should be specified.
- Condition : Air state, Heating rate : 10℃/min, - In the experimental method, it was written that it was carried out in the air, and the heating rate was also written in addition.
4)Excellent printability of the paste should be proved by experimental data.
- The surface of the printed electrode was shown under an optical microscope.
Author Response File: Author Response.docx
