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
Technology ID

SD# 14202.1

Published

2/4/2020

Last Updated

2/4/2020