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. 2020 Jun 1;10(1):8878.
doi: 10.1038/s41598-020-65698-3.

Silver nanoparticle conductive inks: synthesis, characterization, and fabrication of inkjet-printed flexible electrodes

Iara J Fernandes #  1 , Angélica F Aroche #  2 , Ariadna Schuck #  2 , Paola Lamberty  2 , Celso R Peter  2 , Willyan Hasenkamp  2 , Tatiana L A C Rocha  2
Affiliations

Silver nanoparticle conductive inks: synthesis, characterization, and fabrication of inkjet-printed flexible electrodes

Iara J Fernandes et al. Sci Rep. .

Abstract

Flexible electronics can be developed with a low-cost and simple fabrication process while being environmentally friendly. Conductive silver inks have been the most applied material in flexible substrates. This study evaluated the performance of different conductive ink formulations using silver nanoparticles by studying the material properties, the inkjet printing process, and application based on electrical impedance spectroscopy using a buffer solution. Silver nanoparticles synthesis was carried out through chemical reduction of silver nitrate; then, seven conductive ink formulations were produced. Properties such as resistivity, viscosity, surface tension, adhesion, inkjet printability of the inks, and electrical impedance of the printed electrodes were investigated. Curing temperature directly influenced the electrical properties of the inks. The resistivity obtained varied from 3.3 × 100 to 5.6 × 10-06 Ω.cm. Viscosity ranged from 3.7 to 7.4 mPa.s, which is suitable for inkjet printing fabrication. By using a buffer solution as an analyte, the printed electrode pairs presented electrical impedance lower than 200 Ω for all the proposed designs, demonstrating the potential of the formulated inks for utilization in flexible electronic devices for biological sensing applications.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no competing interests.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Electrode shapes designed for the electrical characterization experiment (Width: 27.2 mm; Height: 5.6 mm; Gap: 0.8 mm).
Figure 2
Figure 2
The particle size distribution of silver nanoparticles obtained (A) and supernatant (B).
Figure 3
Figure 3
Resistivity of the different formulations cured at temperatures 150, 200, and 300 °C.
Figure 4
Figure 4
FE-SEM surface analysis of ink samples at room temperature (A) and after the sintering process at 300 °C (B).
Figure 5
Figure 5
SEM cross-section of ink sample I-7 printed on a photo paper and embedded in an epoxy resin.
Figure 6
Figure 6
Different designs of the printed electrodes (A), with a closer view of design D-6 (B) and mechanical bending outwards (C) using the ink formulation I-7.
Figure 7
Figure 7
EIS response for a frequency range of 0.1 Hz to 10 kHz of the different printed electrodes pairs using the I-6 (A) and I-7 (B) ink formulations.
Figure 8
Figure 8
Electrical impedance measurement at 1 kHz for the different pairs of electrodes (D-1 to D-6) printed with ink formulations labeled I-6 and I-7.
Figure 9
Figure 9
Mean impedance values (n = 30) at 1 kHz for the different ink formulations (I-6 and I-7) using the electrode design D-6.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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