Inkjet printing of nanosized silver colloids

Abstract

A water-based conducting ink, composed of well dispersed nano-silver particles, has been successfully inkjet printed using an ordinary commercial printer. The silver colloids with diameter around 50 nm were dispersed in a water and diethylene glycol cosolvent system. The 25 wt% silver ink had a viscosity of about 7.4 cP and surface tension of 33.5 dyn cm(-1) at 20 degrees C, which is appropriate for printing jobs. Continuous and smooth lines of 130 microm width could be printed on ordinary glass substrates using an Epson R210 printer. After baking at 260 degrees C for 3 min, these lines exhibited a resistivity of 1.6 x 10(-5) Omega cm, which could serve as conducting lines for electronic applications.