Simple and green fabrication process of nano silver conductive ink and the application in frequency selective surface.

A simple and green method for fabrication of nano silver conductive ink was developed for use in frequency selective surface (FSS). The hydrogen peroxide and ethyl cellulose were used as reducing agents and dispersants to synthesize silver nanoparticles (Ag NPs), and the ethyl cellulose was be used as binders of nano silver conductive ink eventually. The reaction byproducts of hydrogen peroxide are water and oxygen, the synthesized Ag NPs were be cleaned using purified water and alcohol without centrifugation and drying process. The conductive ink with 30 wt% silver content was formulated with the Ag NPs capped with ethyl cellulose, solvent and additive, the residual water and alcohol were be evaporated using vacuum distillation process. The prepared Ag NPs were characterized by SEM, XRD, TGA and FT-IR. The viscosity and surface tension of Ag NPs ink were tested, and the conductive ink was inkjet printed on Polyimide (PI) film to fabricate the FSS. The results showed the printed FSS had reflection resonances at 16.5 GHz and nulls deeper than the required -20 dB level, with depths of -32 dB.

Graphene-Ag nanohexagonal platelets-based ink with high electrical properties at low sintering temperatures.

Printed-electronics inks belong to a class of novel functional conductive inks that can be used to form high-precision conducting lines or circuits on various flexible substrates. Previous studies have reported conductive inks produced by the reduction and membrane separation method for use in flexible devices. However, it remains a challenge to synthesize conductive inks with high electrical properties at low sintering temperatures, which restricts their range of applications. Herein, we prepare inkjet-printed patterns of conductive inks consisting of Ag nanohexagonal platelets (AgNHPs) as the main component and containing graphene (GE) in different contents. It is found that GE improves the electrical conductivity of the patterns when sintering is done at relatively low temperatures. For instance, when the GE content is 0.15 mg ml(-1), the resistivity is the lowest. When sintering is done at 150 °C, the resistivity (2.7 × 10(-6) Ω · cm) of the GE-AgNHPs conductive ink (GE: 0.15 mg ml(-1)) is 14% of that of the AgNHPs conductive ink; on the other hand, after sintering at 50 °C, this ratio is 2%. It is also found that, with the increase in GE content, the resistivity of the GE-AgNHPs conductive ink increases. This study on GE-AgNHPs conductive inks sintered at low temperatures should further the development of flexible touch screens.

Annealing-free and strongly adhesive silver nanowire networks with long-term reliability by introduction of a nonconductive and biocompatible polymer binder.

As a promising candidate to replace the brittle and expensive transparent indium tin oxide (ITO) conductor, the use of silver nanowire (AgNW) networks still involves issues such as high-temperature post-treatments and poor substrate adhesion for industrial application. Here a room-temperature soldering and one-step solution method is developed to achieve high-performance Ag nanowire transparent conductive films (TCFs). A nonconductive binder is prepared from poly(dopamine) and alginic acid which contains abundant catechol and carboxylic acid functional groups. The drying of the binder on the Ag nanowire percolation networks induces tighter contact among the nanowires and strong adhesion to the substrate, simultaneously enhancing the electrical and mechanical properties without a high-temperature annealing process. As a result, a highly conductive and bendable AgNW film is demonstrated on a low-cost polyethylene glycol terephthalate (PET) substrate, showing an 89% optical transmittance at λ = 550 nm and a sheet resistance of 16.3 Ohm sq(-1). Its optical and electrical performances are superior to those obtained from the reported indium tin oxide (ITO) films. Moreover, the AgNW film exhibits strong adhesion to the substrate, maintaining its conductivity after 100 tape tests, and it still resists the tape test even after exposure to solvent for several hours. Most importantly, the film shows good reliability during long-term 85 °C/85% RH (relative humidity) aging, which has been rarely investigated although it is a critical requirement for industrial application. The advanced and wide-ranging features of the prepared AgNW film greatly contribute to its use as a transparent electrode in multifunctional flexible electronic devices.

Site-selective growth of patterned silver grid networks as flexible transparent conductive film by using poly(dopamine) at room temperature.

Metal transparent conductive films (TCFs) have received increasing attention in various flexible electronics. However, there are two crucial issues that need to be addressed: (1) strong adhesion between metal TCFs and the flexible substrates and (2) high conductivity with short treatment time and low process temperature, simultaneous with high transparency. In this paper, a site-selective electroless plating combination with poly(dopamine) modification is demonstrated to fabricate a new high performance transparent conductor composed of a periodic two-dimensional silver network on a heat sensitive flexible substrate at room temperature. The TCF reveals an extremely high ratio of DC to optical conductivity (σ(DC)/σ(Op)) value in the range of 350-1000 for various fabricated silver grid films. It also exhibits particularly strong adhesion, which can resist ultrasonic treatment in water or organic solvent for several hours. Its reliability (stable for at least 1440 h during 85 °C/85% RH aging) meets the essential requirements for microelectronic applications. Using this method, we obtain silver grid film on a flexible polyethylene terephthalate substrate with optical transmittance of 91% and sheet resistance of 8 Ohm sq(-1), which is comparable to or better than the commercially available indium tin oxide.

Copper nanoparticles: aqueous phase synthesis and conductive films fabrication at low sintering temperature.

Conductive copper nanoinks can be used as a low-cost replacement for silver and gold nanoinks that are used in inkjet printing of conductive patterns. We describe a high-throughput, simple, and convenient method for the preparation of copper nanoparticles in aqueous solution at room temperature. Copper acetate is used as the precursor, hydrazine as the reducing agent, and short chain carboxylic acids as capping agents. The concentration of the carboxylic acid plays a key role in the preparation of such copper nanoparticles. Stable copper nanoparticles with a diameter of less than 10 nm and a narrow size distribution were prepared when high concentrations of lactic acid, citric acid, or alanine were used. Thermogravimetric analysis results showed that any lactic acid or glycolic acid adsorbed on the surface of the copper nanoparticles can be removed at a relatively low temperature, especially, glycolic acid, which can be removed from the surface at about 125 °C. Highly conductive copper films prepared using lactic acid and glycolic acid as capping agents were obtained by drop coating a copper nanoparticle paste onto a glass slide followed by low temperature sintering. The electrical resistivity of the copper film using glycolic acid as the capping agent was 25.5 ± 8.0 and 34.8 ± 9.0 µΩ·cm after annealing at 150 and 200 °C for 60 min under nitrogen, respectively. When lactic acid was used as the capping agent, the electrical resistivity of the copper films was 21.0 ± 7.0 and 9.1 ± 2.0 µΩ·cm after annealing at 150 and 200 °C for 60 min under nitrogen, respectively, with the latter being about five times greater than the resistivity of bulk copper (1.7 µΩ·cm).