Additive-free silver nanoparticle ink development using flow-based Laser Ablation Synthesis in Solution and Aerosol Jet printing

Abstract

• Optimum conditions determined for high yield LASiS Ag NP at 1.08 mg mL −1 . • Process control developed for Ag particle production in range of 27–39 nm. • Aerosol Jet printing of LASiS Ag NP for supercapacitor and humidity sensor. • Track resistance of 83 Ω improved to 51 Ω after thermal sintering treatment. • Resistivity of 7.72 × 10 −6 Ω m −1 improved to 4.74 × 10 −6 Ω m −1 for sintered tracks. Additive free conductive ink formulation via green techniques and its direct printing is critical for many applications including smart electronics, solar cells, healthcare and electrochemical energy storage. The available printable ink generations are far away from ideal. This study reports the development of additive free silver (Ag) nano particle (NP) inks via flow-based Laser Ablation Synthesis in Solution (LASiS) system and Aerosol Jet printing. Examples of LASiS Ag NP printed tracks and patterns on unprocessed glass, rubber, and plastic substrates with spatial uniformity and high printing resolution are demonstrated. For thermally sintered Ag NP track, the resistivity decreased to 4.74 × 10 −6 Ω m and conductivity improved to 2.11 × 10 5 S/m. The track resistance of ≈ 83 Ω improved to ≈ 51 Ω and the resistivity of 7.72 10 −6 Ω m (conductivity: 1.29 × 10 5 S/m) improved to 4.74 × 10 −6 Ω m. This work highlights that LASiS is a versatile, additive-free conductive ink formulation method for the scalable production of next generation printed electronic components and devices, using the emerging Aerosol Jet printing technology.