Printability and electrical conductivity of silver nanoparticle-based conductive inks for inkjet printing

Inkjet printing conductive ink was prepared with the as-prepared silver nanoparticles as conductive fillers and deionized water as the solvent and leveling agent (MY-3000) and silicone defoamer (NXZ) and wetting agent (TRITONX-405) and moisturizer (glycerol) as functional additives. We investigated the effects of viscosity and surface tension of conductive ink and the inkjet print parameters including number of nozzle, print speed, and ink droplet spacing on inkjet printability of conductive ink. The research results show that the inks with the viscosity range of 2.8–9.1 mPa·s and the surface tension of 33.4 mN·m−1 are suitable for inkjet printing. The printing accuracy of the print pattern is related to the number of nozzles and droplet space and the printing layer, but not to the printing speed, but can be changed appropriately to improve the print efficiency. When the mass content of silver nanoparticles is 6.91 wt%, the sheet resistance of the printing pattern with four layers is 2.71 Ω·cm−1, which is in appropriate printing conditions of the inkjet printing voltage of 21 V, printing speed of 60 m· S−1, ink droplet space of 20 μm, and nozzles of 2. The systematic studies of printability and electrical conductivity of inkjet printing silver nanoparticles conductive ink prove the feasibility of the ink and provide some ideas for future applications.