Metallic Nanoparticle Inks for 3D Printing of Electronics

Abstract

Metallic nanoparticle inks are readily obtainable from the commercial market and are commonly used for fabricating conductive tracks and patterns due to their relatively higher electrical conductivity as compared to other types of inks. These metallic nanoparticle inks are made up of electrically conductive metallic nanoparticles suspended in liquid mediums, with particle size ranging from 1 to 100 nm. However, there are also diverse types of metallic nanoparticle inks in the market (for instance, silver nanoparticle inks, gold nanoparticle inks, and copper nanoparticle inks). Metallic nanoparticle inks of different material compositions can directly influence the final electrical, material, and mechanical properties of the printed patterns. This paper presents an overview of the different types of metallic nanoparticle inks used for the 3D printing of electronics. The strengths and weaknesses of each type of ink are critically reviewed. The challenges and potentials of metallic nanoparticle inks in 3D printed electronics are also discussed. Metallic Nanoparticle InksMetallic nanoparticle inks are suspensions of metallic nanoparticles in liquid mediums (see Figure 2a), in which individual metallic nanoparticle is encapsulated in a layer of insulating organic additives and stabilizing agents (see Figure 2b). The encapsulating organic additives and stabilizing agents help prevent the metallic nanoparticles from agglomeration, but at the same time, also impede the flow of electrons from particles to particles. Therefore, sintering processes are required to remove The three-dimensional (3D) printed electronics additive manufacturing industry sector has grown substantially in the past few years, and there is increasing demand for different types of metallic nanoparticle inks in electronics printing for various applications. Metallic nanoparticle inks are commonly used for fabricating conductive tracks and patterns due to their relatively high electrical conductivity as compared to other types of inks, and they can be further categorized into single-element metallic nanoparticle inks, alloy metallic nanoparticle inks, metallic oxide nanoparticle inks, and core-shell bimetallic nanoparticle (BNP) inks. It is critical to gain a deep understanding of the metallic nanoparticle inks used in 3D printed electronics as the material properties of these inks can directly affect the final electrical and mechanical properties of the printed patterns. This review presents an overview of the available metallic nanoparticle inks used for 3D printing of electronics, and critically reviews the strengths and weaknesses of each type of ink. Finally, the challenges of metallic nanoparticle inks in 3D printed electronics are also discussed along with the future outlook for 3D printed electronics.

Screen-Printed Electrodes Modified with Metal Nanoparticles for Small Molecule Sensing

“…Iron and cobalt NPs are one of the most assayed ones due to its low-cost production, tailor-made magnetic properties, easy functionalization processes, and biocompatibility. Iron NPs are often used as a magnetic carrier more than a catalyst [95] while cobalt NPs are mostly employed to achieve inks for electronic 3D printing [96], so the applications and SPE-based devices achieved exceed the scope of this review.…”

Flexible Electronics: Status, Challenges and Opportunities

“…In terms of interconnections, there has been a huge demonstration of metallic nanoparticles that have been dispersed in many solvents to produce printable inks for the fabrication of conductive tracks and patterns. These nanoparticles have also been included within polymeric matrices to address roughness challenges (Burgués-Ceballos et al, 2014), with elastomeric materials and hydrogels to become stretchable (Sekitani et al, 2009;Kettlgruber et al, 2013), and even alongside thermoplastic materials like polylactic acid for the production of conductive structures through fused deposition 3D printing (Tan et al, 2019). Nonetheless, many challenges to be addressed by future research include the formation of fracture paths and selfhealing as a form of mitigation, the formation of oxides and passivation pathways, as well as methods to simplify the synthesis and preparation of inks (Nayak et al, 2019).…”

A Comprehensive Review of Additive Manufacturing (3D Printing): Processes, Applications and Future Potential

“…It has shown unique ability to fabricate embedded electronics, 3D structural electronics, conformal electronics, stretchable electronics, ceramic electronic etc., as shown in Fig. 15 (Lehmhus et al, 2016), (Thompson and Yoon, 2013), (Tan et al, 2019), (Wang et al, 2010), (Ota et al, 2016). Over the past five years, a large number of studies and efforts regarding 3D printing electronics have been carried out by both academia and industry (Zheng et al, 2013), (Ladd et al, 2013), (Yang et al, 2018), (Skylar-Scott et al, 2016), (Lewis et al, 2006), (Lifton et al, 2014).…”