Due to the ability to bypass the traditional high-priced and inflexible silicon-based electronic products, by using large-scale and high-volume printing technology to manufacture various devices on flexible substrates, printed electronic products have attracted more and more attention in the manufacturing industry. This simple and cost-effective method can enhance the current methods of constructing patterned surfaces of nanomaterials and provide opportunities for the development of fully printable devices, especially the possibility of providing ubiquitous low-cost, and flexible devices.
New functions, higher performance, and new dimensions are all driving the emergence of printed electronics. Materials used to form resistors, capacitors, and other components in printed circuits may include semiconducting organic compounds, metal nanoparticles, and carbon nanotubes. Ongoing research will discover more materials that can be used to make printable electronic components every year. Alfa Chemistry can provide you with a variety of nanomaterials to prepare printed conductive patterns, electrodes, sensors, thin-film transistors (TFT), and other micro/nanodevices. Our products are trustworthy.
Metallic nanoparticles
Various inks based on metal nanoparticles have been developed and used to print electronic products, including gold, silver, palladium, copper, tin, nickel nanoparticles and their alloys or composite nanoparticles.
Copper Nanodispersion
- Nano copper (about 100 nm)
- Conductive metal
- Cost-effective silver alternative
- Contains only copper and antioxidants
- Non-oxidizing material
- Standard 50 or 65 wt% Cu can be used in a variety of solvents
- Due to the low cost of CAPEX and OPEX, the process is cost-effective
- For printed components, such as fully printed PCBs and antennas
- Functional pigments for printing inks-printed conductive tracks, ultra-fine screen features, flexible substrates
Figure.1 Printing of a conductive 3D structure with the use of ink composed of an UV-curable emulsion and a dispersion of metal NPs. (Kamyshny A, et al. 2014)
Silver Nano Dispersion
- Nano silver (about 50 nm)
- Highly conductive metal
- Aqueous dispersion
- For more demanding applications
- Functional pigments for printing inks-printed conductive tracks, ultra-fine screen features, flexible substrates
- For printed components, such as fully printed PCBs and antennas
Barium Titanate Nano Dispersion
- Small primary particle size (less than 20 nm)
- High crystallinity
- Aqueous dispersion
- Capacitor dielectric materials, printed components such as thin-film transistors and diodes, piezoelectric materials
Nickel Nanodispersion
- Standard 25 wt% Ni is soluble in water or ethanol
- Non-oxidizing material
- High crystallinity
- Used as conductor or electrode material (such as solar cells) and batteries (nickel-iron batteries)
Transparent Conductive Oxide (TCO)
Traditional TCO inks include indium tin oxide (ITO), aluminum doped (AZO), gallium (GZO) and indium (IZO) ZnO, fluorine (FTO) doped SnO2, CdO, Ga2O3 and In2O3 inks. Among them, ITO is mainly used to manufacture conductive inks and transparent coatings for electronic displays, and is the main direction of application of transparent electrode materials today. Alfa Chemistry provides you with a variety of TCO products to support your experimental procedures.
Figure.2 (a) Synthesis of both pure and doped TCO NCs. (b) Photographs of a series of TCO NC inks dispersed in toluene with stabilities of more than one year. (Wu W, et al. 2017)
Carbon Nanomaterials
Carbon inks have been particularly attractive for printing electrochemical electrodes for sensing applications, which is usually composed of graphite particles, a polymer binder, and other additives.
Carbon nanotubes (CNT) are used to manufacture printing equipment due to their unique electrical properties and potential for various applications. Recent commercial development work has resulted in an SWCNT film with 90% transparency and a sheet resistivity of 100 Ω sq-1.77.
Various studies have shown that high-quality graphene sheets can be used to manufacture flexible and transparent electronic devices with extremely high mobility.
References
- Kamyshny A, et al. (2014). “Conductive Nanomaterials for Printed Electronics.” Small. 10(17): 3515-3535.
- Wu W, et al. (2017). “Inorganic Nanomaterials for Printed Electronics: A Review.” Nanoscale. 9: 7342-7372.
