Abstract
Low-cost metallic nanoink based on nickel–silver core–shell nanoparticles (Ni@Ag NPs) was used for the formation of conductive metallic coatings with low sintering temperature, which can be successfully applied for replacement of currently used silver-based nanoinks in printed electronics. The effect of oxalic acid (OA) on the sintering temperature and conductivity of coatings formed by Ni@Ag NPs was evaluated. It was found that the addition of OA to the ink formulation and post-printing treatment of deposited films with this acid provided a noticeable decrease in the sintering temperature required for obtaining conductive patterns that is especially important for utilizing the polymeric substrates. The obtained resistivity of metallic coatings after sintering at temperature as low as 100 °C was found to be 30 µΩ·cm, only ~4 times higher compared to the resistivity of bulk Ni that is promising for future application of such materials for fabrication of low-cost flexible printed patterns.
Highlights
Printed electronics is a growing field in applied materials science and technology, among which flexible printed electronics, referring to printed devices that are stable under bending, twisting, and folding, is a major trend [1]
We studied the effect on the conductivity of deposited metallic coatings of adding selected carboxylic acids to the Cu-Ag ink, and revealed increased conductivity for all tested acids, with the highest effect being found for oleic acid [21]
Two approaches were used to study the effect of oxalic acid (OA) on the conductivity of films formed by Ni@Ag ink: (1) addition of OA to the ink, followed by its deposition on the substrate and sintering; and
Summary
Printed electronics is a growing field in applied materials science and technology, among which flexible printed electronics, referring to printed devices that are stable under bending, twisting, and folding, is a major trend [1]. The main challenge in the use of flexible substrates for printed electronics is their low thermal stability, while obtaining high electrical conductivity in printed circuits usually requires sintering at elevated temperatures [2,3,6,7,8,9,10]. This process removes the insulating organic components of the ink and allows the welding of metallic NPs, in order to form a continuous electrical network [2,3]. Chemical- [13,14] and radiation-induced [15,16] sintering methods have been considered
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