Synthesis of Ag/RGO composite as effective conductive ink filler for flexible inkjet printing electronics

Abstract

Abstract The inkjet printing technology has been an attractive alternative to conventional photolithography to fabricate flexible electronics, owing to its advantages including easy control and low cost. However, development of an appropriate ink possessing low cost, high conductivity and good dispersivity for inkjet printing is still a big challenge. In this work, the well dispersed Ag/RGO composite was obtained by anchoring silver nanoparticles (Ag NPs) on the surface of reduced graphene oxide (RGO) sheet, which served as one of promising conductive ink fillers for printable flexible electronics. The synthesized Ag/RGO composite improved the conductivity of ink with Ag NPs and promoted the dispersivity of RGO to avoid nozzle jam, which offered a proper solution to the two critical issues of conductive ink: conductivity and dispersivity. The Ag/RGO composite was attested to be a suitable material for fabricating printable flexible electronics at 100 °C and developing graphene-based functional electronic devices.