Coinage Metal Nanoparticles for Nanoinks

A simple, rapid, and volume-scalable method to produce high quality coinage metals for nanoinks

Printed and flexible electronics are a fast-growing area of interest with commercial applications ranging from wearables, smart packaging, photovoltaics, to lighting and displays. Nanoparticle-based functional inks (nanoinks), particularly those with conductive properties, play a significant role in the market realization of this emerging area. Sandia researchers developed a simple and scalable method of generating high quality coinage metal nanoparticles that addresses the need for the rapid, high volume production of nanoinks. The technique was demonstrated with copper using a xylene-based solvent and a hyperdispersant. Dynamic light scattering (DLS), powder X-ray diffraction (PXRD), and transmission electron microscopy (TEM) studies were used to confirm nanoparticle size and qualities measuring 6-16 nm at temperatures between 160-185° C, depending on scale. The resulting nanoinks were found to support architectures with high quality copper patterns in aerosol and inkjet printing applications in the sub 50 micrometer range.

Benefits

• Aerosol and inkjet compatible
• Air-stable
• Reduced time and temperature compared to other methods
• Compatible with multiple metal types (copper, silver, and gold)
• Low viscosity (sub 50 micrometer range)
• Scalable for large volume requirements

Applications and Industries

• Additive manufacturing (AM)
• Direct-Write Advanced Manufacturing (DWAM)
• Microelectronics