Inkjet-printed silver tracks: low temperature curing and thermal stability investigation

me ch oo am gro ils by-lin the possibility for the production of flexible electronics, also in a roll-to-roll (R2R) manner. conductance by direct physical contact. Whereas – although on the surface of the nanoparticle reduces the surface energy.18 Secondly, organic binders are often used to assure mechanical trate after drying. r printing, forces the particles arise when metallic contact and a continuous percolating he printed feature. However, the silver particles as thin as revent electrons from moving The adsorbed dispersant will e particles and will have to be perature. PAPER www.rsc.org/materials | Journal of Materials ChemistrySchiller-University Jena, Humboldtstr. 10, 07743 Jena, Germanyoften misused for the curing temperature – sintering takes place at a higher temperature where all organic material has burned off Besides the low curing temperature, a second important property is to obtain the lowest possible resistance of the printed features at the lowest possible temperature. To achieve this, sintering of the particles is required to trans-form the initial very small contact areas to thicker necks and, eventually, to a dense layer. During this process, the conductivity will gradually increase as the contacts between the particles become larger. Note that we distinguish between the critical curing temperature at which initial metallic contacts arise and the sintering process in which the contacts are gradually intensified