Reversible Conductive Inkjet Printing of Healable and Recyclable Electrodes on Cardboard and Paper

Abstract

Conductive inkjet printing with metal nanoparticles is irreversible because the particles are sintered into a continuous metal film. The resulting structures are difficult to remove or repair and prone to cracking. Here, a hybrid ink is used to obviate the sintering step and print interconnected particle networks that become highly conductive immediately after drying. It is shown that reversible conductive printing is possible on low‐cost cardboard samples after applying standard paper industry coats that are adapted in terms of surface energy and porosity. The conductivity of the printed films approaches that of sintered standard inks on the same substrate, but the mobility of the hybrid particle film makes them less sensitive to cracks during bending and folding of the substrate. Damages that occur can be partially repaired by wetting the film such that particle mobility is increased and particles move to bridge insulating gaps in the film. It is demonstrated that the conductive material can be recovered from the cardboard at the end of its life time and be redispersed to recycle the particles and reuse them in conductive inks.

Large-Scale Synthesis of Hybrid Conductive Polymer–Gold Nanoparticles Using “Sacrificial” Weakly Binding Ligands for Printing Electronics

“…One should notice that drying times generally depend on the relative humidity, temperature, and substrate. 50…”

“…It dropped to values in a range of 25–55% (36% on average) after 24 h of drying at room temperature. One should notice that drying times generally depend on the relative humidity, temperature, and substrate …”

3D‐Printed Wearable Electrochemical Energy Devices

“…For instance, printed carbon‐nanotube ink‐based electrode structures have been reported to peel off from Kapton tape after drying, rendering the devices non‐wearable and non‐functional. [ 84,86 ] This problem can be addressed by pre‐treating the surface of the Kapton substrate with a thin layer of compatible film that acts as a soft and adhesive interfacial layer, or by plasma‐treating the substrate to enhance its hydrophilic properties and increase the adhesion of the printed ink. [ 84 ] Another approach for solving this problem is using additives (adhesive surfactants) that satisfy the degree of flexibility without any observed fragility.…”

Sacrificial ligand route to hybrid polythiophene–silver nanoparticles for sinter-free conductive inks

“…We have shown that the conductive polymers poly (3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene):polystyrene sulfonate (PEDOT:PSS) and poly [2-(3-thienyl)-ethyloxy-4-butylsulfonate] (PTEBS) simultaneously function as ligands that lend stability to gold-polymer hybrid nanoparticles and yield electrically conductive interfaces, thus obviating posttreatment. 13 Gold as core material provides high electronic conductivity and chemical stability. It has affinity for sulphur, making it possible to replace initial ligands with thiol bearing conductive polymers.…”