Inkjet printing bendable circuits based on an oil-water interface reaction

Abstract

Bendable circuits were precisely fabricated by inkjet printing technology based on an oil-water interface reaction. Silver amine ion aqueous solution was used as inkjet ink, and liquid polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) added reducing agent was served as printing substrate. Oil-water interface patterns were fabricated with inkjet printing technology. Then an oil-water interface reaction was carried out to generate silver circuit. It is demonstrated that the water phase could wet well the oil phase for generating a thick and compact silver layer by adding a small amount of surfactant. A mosaic silver layer with 15–20 μm thickness was obtained on the PDMS surface. The bendability of the inkjet printed circuit was greatly improved with the mosaic structure. This work presents a facile way to fabricate bendable circuits by inkjet printing technology.