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Low-cost metallic nanoink based on nickel–silver core–shell nanoparticles (Ni@Ag NPs) was used for the formation of conductive metallic coatings with low sintering temperature, which can be successfully applied for replacement of currently used silver-based nanoinks in printed electronics. The effect of oxalic acid (OA) on the sintering temperature and conductivity of coatings formed by Ni@Ag NPs was evaluated. It was found that the addition of OA to the ink formulation and post-printing treatment of deposited films with this acid provided a noticeable decrease in the sintering temperature required for obtaining conductive patterns that is especially important for utilizing the polymeric substrates. The obtained resistivity of metallic coatings after sintering at temperature as low as 100 °C was found to be 30 µΩ·cm, only ~4 times higher compared to the resistivity of bulk Ni that is promising for future application of such materials for fabrication of low-cost flexible printed patterns.

The review is focused on bimetallic nanoparticles composed of a core formed by low-cost metal having high electrical conductivity, such as Cu and Ni, and a protective shell composed of stable to oxidation noble metal such as Ag or Au. We present the chemical and physical approaches for synthesis of such particles, as well as the combination of the two, the stability to oxidation of core-shell nanoparticles at various conditions, and the formulation of conductive compositions and their application in conductive coatings and printed electronics.

Soft robotics is a growing field of research, focusing on constructing motor-less robots from highly compliant materials, some are similar to those found in living organisms. Soft robotics has a high potential for applications in various fields such as soft grippers, actuators, and biomedical devices. 3D printing of soft robotics presents a novel and promising approach to form objects with complex structures, directly from a digital design. Here, recent developments in the field of materials for 3D printing of soft robotics are summarized, including high-performance flexible and stretchable materials, hydrogels, self-healing materials, and shape memory polymers, as well as fabrication of all-printed robots (multi-material printing, embedded electronics, untethered and autonomous robotics). The current challenges in the fabrication of 3D printed soft robotics, including the materials available and printing abilities, are presented and the recent activities addressing these challenges are also surveyed.

Conductive copper inks have attracted much attention as low-cost replacement for the currently used silver inks for printed electronics. The copper inks should be stable to oxidation at all stages of fabrication of conductive patterns: ink formulation and storage, printing, and post-printing treatment. In the present study, air-stable copper-silver core-shell (Cu@Ag) submicron particles were utilized in conductive ink formulations. To improve the conductivity of the resulting Cu@Ag coatings, the effect of various carboxylic acids was evaluated. It was found that all acids led to decreased resistivity after sintering at elevated temperatures, while the lowest value was only 4 times higher than the bulk resistivity at 3 wt% of oleic. The mechanism governing the effect of carboxylic acids is discussed, in view of possible stabilizer exchange and oxide dissolution.

We report on the synthesis of copper-silver core-shell (Cu@Ag) particles with about 1 μm-diameter Cu core coated with a thin (∼20 nm) silver shell, for application in printed electronics as low cost conductive ink. The process is based on using the environmentally friendly sodium formaldehyde sulfoxylate dehydrate as a reducing agent for copper ions and two types of polymeric stabilizers (nonionic PVP and anionic PAA). The formation of core-shell particles is followed by transmetallation reaction on the surface of the Cu particles, where copper atoms function as the reducer for silver ions. Characterization of the submicron particles by SEM, EDS and XRD confirm the core-shell structure. The resulting Cu@Ag particles enable overcoming a major challenge in copper ink, their rapid oxidation in air. It was found that ink formulations based on propylene glycol as the liquid vehicle and containing a silicone based wetting agent possesses the optimal characteristics (wetting, sintering) for printing on a glass substrate. To obtain conductive metallic structures, thermal sintering of metallic patterns was used. The Cu@Ag coating are stable to oxidation for at least 6 months at room temperature, and also during sintering process which is carried out at temperatures up to 250 °C. The conductivity of Cu@Ag coatings after sintering at 250 °C was high, 16% of that for bulk copper.

The use of Cu-formate-2-amino-2-methyl-1-propanol ink and low-pressure plasma for the formation of highly conductive patterns on heat sensitive plastic substrates was studied. It was found that plasma results in decomposition of copper complex to form metallic copper without heating at high temperatures. Ink composition and plasma parameters (predrying conditions, plasma treatment duration, gas type, and flow rate) were optimized to obtain uniform conductive metallic films. The morphology and electrical characteristics of these films were evaluated. Exposing the printed copper metallo-organic decomposition (MOD) ink to 160 W plasma for 8 min yielded resistivity as low as 7.3 ± 0.2 μΩ cm, which corresponds to 23% bulk copper conductivity. These results demonstrate the applicability of MOD inks and plasma treatment to obtain highly conductive printed patterns on low-cost plastic substrates and 3D printed polymers.

This review describes recent developments in the field of conductive nanomaterials and their application in 2D and 3D printed flexible electronics, with particular emphasis on inks based on metal nanoparticles and nanowires, carbon nanotubes, and graphene sheets. We present the basic properties of these nanomaterials, their stabilization in dispersions, formulation of conductive inks and formation of conductive patterns on flexible substrates (polymers, paper, textile) by using various printing technologies and post-printing processes. Applications of conductive nanomaterials for fabrication of various 2D and 3D electronic devices are also briefly discussed.

A sol, aqueous solution-based ink is presented for fabrication of 3D transparent silica glass objects with complex geometries, by a simple 3D printing process conducted at room temperature. The ink combines a hybrid ceramic precursor that can undergo both the photopolymerization reaction and a sol-gel process, both in the solution form, without any particles. The printing is conducted by localized photopolymerization with the use of a low-cost 3D printer. Following printing, upon aging and densifying, the resulting objects convert from a gel to a xerogel and then to a fused silica. The printed objects, which are composed of fused silica, are transparent and have tunable density and refractive indices.

Transparent conductive films composed of CuS were formed by wet deposition on PET at room temperature followed by annealing at 100 °C for 1 hour. The resistance of the films was tuned by doping with In3+. A decrease of over an order of magnitude of the sheet resistance was obtained, from 1721 Ω sq−1 for undoped CuS film to 109 Ω sq−1 for In3+ doped. Transparency of the conducting films could be tuned by an appropriate selection of reaction time and In3+ concentration. It was found that films containing 10 mol% of In3+ ions after a reaction duration of 24 hours have a sheet resistance of ∼270 Ω sq−1 and a transparency of ∼80%. The fabricated films are characterized by excellent adhesion to the PET substrate and are shown to be suitable for use as transparent conducting electrodes (TCE) in flexible electroluminescent (EL) devices.

VO2 nanoparticles with a dimension of approximately 20 nm were obtained by simple mechanical bead-milling method, which were well dispersed in transparent silica-alumina (Si-Al) gel matrix to form nanocomposites. The VO2/Si-Al gel thermochromic nanocomposite foils were fabricated with various VO2 solid contents and foil thickness. With 10% VO2 loading and 3 μm foil thickness, high luminous transmittance (T(lum(20°C))=63.7% and T(lum(90°C))=54.4%), and large solar modulation ability (ΔTsol=12%) can be obtained which surpasses the best reported results (nanoporous films:T(lum(20°C))=43.3%, T(lum(90°C))=39.9% and ΔTsol=14.1%). This current approach provided a simple and scalable preparation method with the best combined thermochromic performance.

This is a review on recent developments in the field of conductive nanomaterials and their application in printed electronics, with particular emphasis on inkjet printing of ink formulations based on metal nanoparticles, carbon nanotubes, and graphene sheets. The review describes the basic properties of conductive nanomaterials suitable for printed electronics (metal nanoparticles, carbon nanotubes, and graphene), their stabilization in dispersions, formulations of conductive inks, and obtaining conductive patterns by using various sintering methods. Applications of conductive nanomaterials for electronic devices (transparent electrodes, metallization of solar cells, RFID antennas, TFTs, and light emitting devices) are also briefly reviewed.

A “nano to nano” electrodeposition approach for preparing nano-structured thin films from the dispersion of nano-objects is reported. A typical WO3 system is demonstrated, where nanocrystalline films are electrodeposited onto transparent conductive electrodes such as ITO and Ag grid printed PET (Ag grid/PET) from the water dispersion of WO3 nanoparticles without applying high potential, adding surfactants or polymers. The process is based on the reduction of WO3, which eliminates the electrostatic repulsion between the nanoparticles causing film deposition on the cathode. The reduced WO3 (HWO3) is conductive, thus it allows further film growth towards higher thickness and coverage. The electrodeposited films consist of stacked crystalline nanoparticles, which provide a highly active surface area, facilitate the penetration of electrolyte and the intercalation/deintercalation of Li+ in the nanocrystals and therefore result in outstanding electrochromic performance and stability (92% contrast, 9 s coloring and 15 s bleaching, retaining 76% contrast after 1000 coloring–bleaching cycles). The thickness, electrochromic performance and surface coverage of the films are well tuned by potential and time. This novel “nano to nano” electrodeposition approach based on the electrochemical redox of nano-objects can be extended to various transition metal oxide nano-objects with different sizes and shapes.

This is a review on recent developments in the field of transparent conductive coatings (TCCs) for ITO replacement. The review describes the basic properties of conductive nanomaterials suitable for fabrication of such TCCs (metallic nanoparticles and nanowires, carbon nanotubes and graphene sheets), various methods of patterning the metal nanoparticles with formation of conductive transparent metallic grids, honeycomb structures and 2D arrays of interconnected rings as well as fabrication of TCCs based on graphene and carbon nanotubes. Applications of TCCs in electronic and optoelectronic devices, such as solar cells, electroluminescent and electrochromic devices, touch screens and displays, and transparent EMI shielders, are discussed.

A combination of plasma and microwave flash sintering is used to sinter an inkjet-printed and tailored silver nanoparticle formulation. By using two sintering techniques sequentially, the obtained conductivity is 60%, while keeping the processing temperature well below the glass transition temperature (T(g)) of the used polymer substrate. This approach leads to highly conductive features on cost-effective polymer substrates in relatively short times, which are compatible with roll-to-roll (R2R) production. An electroluminescence device is prepared as an example.

A review on applications of metal-based inkjet inks for printed electronics with a particular focus on inks con- taining metal nanoparticles, complexes and metallo-organic compounds. The review describes the preparation of such inks and obtaining conductive patterns by using various sintering methods: thermal, photonic, microwave, plasma, electri- cal, and chemically triggered. Various applications of metal-based inkjet inks (metallization of solar cell, RFID antennas, OLEDs, thin film transistors, electroluminescence devices) are reviewed.

Reverse micelles system is suggested as a direct tool to study the influence of membrane matrix composition on the activity and structure of membrane-associated enzymes with the use of acid phosphatase (AP) as an example. In reverse micelles the functioning of the monomeric and dimeric forms of AP could be separately observed by variation of the size of the micelles. We found that including the lipids into the micellar system can dramatically affect the enzyme functioning even at low lipid content (2% w/w), and this effect depends on the lipid nature. Structural studies using CD spectroscopy and DLS methods have shown that the influence of lipid composition on the enzyme properties might be caused by the interaction of lipids with the enzyme as well as by the influence of lipids on structure and properties of the micellar matrix.

In the past few years, the synthesis of Cu nanoparticles has attracted much attention because of its huge potential for replacing expensive nano silver inks utilized in conductive printing. A major problem in utilizing these copper nanoparticles is their inherent tendency to oxidize in ambient conditions. Recently, there have been several reports presenting various approaches which demonstrate that copper nanoparticles can resist oxidation under ambient conditions, if they are coated by a proper protective layer. This layer may consist of an organic polymer, alkene chains, amorphous carbon or graphenes, or inorganic materials such as silica, or an inert metal. Such coated copper nanoparticles enable achieving high conductivities by direct printing of conductive patterns. These approaches open new possibilities in printed electronics, for example by using copper based inkjet inks to form various devices such as solar cells, Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) tags, and electroluminescence devices. This paper provides a review on the synthesis of copper nanoparticles, mainly by wet chemistry routes, and their utilization in printed electronics.

A solid state synthesis for obtaining nanocrystalline silicon was performed by high temperature reduction of commercial amorphous nanosilica with magnesium powder. The obtained silicon powder contains crystalline silicon phase with lattice spacings characteristic of diamond cubic structure (according to high resolution TEM), and an amorphous phase. In {sup 29}Si CP MAS NMR a broad multicomponent peak corresponding to silicon is located at -61.28 to -69.45 ppm, i.e. between the peaks characteristic of amorphous and crystalline Si. The powder has displayed red luminescence while excited under UV illumination, due to quantum confinement within the nanocrystals. The silicon nanopowder was successfully dispersed in water containing poly(vinyl alcohol) as a stabilizing agent. The obtained dispersion was also characterized by red photoluminescence with a band maximum at 710 nm, thus enabling future functional coating applications. - Graphical abstract: High temperature reduction of amorphous nanosilica with magnesium powder results in the formation of powder containing crystalline silicon phase The powder displays red luminescence while excited under UV illumination, due to quantum confinement within the Si nanocrystals, and can be successfully dispersed in water containing poly(vinyl alcohol) as a stabilizing agent. The obtained dispersion was also characterized by red photoluminescence, thus enabling future functional coating applications.

Silicon nanocrystals stabilized by an ionic liquid, dimethylimidazolium iodide, were synthesized by chemical reduction of SiBr4 with metallic Na in an organic solvent, diglyme. The nanoparticles were crystalline with a diamond cubic lattice and average size of 3.5 nm. Solid state 13C- and 29Si-NMR CP MAS spectra indicate the formation of imidazolium carbene, which ligates the Si atoms at the surface of the nanoparticles. The synthesized Si nanoparticles exhibit photoluminescence with an emission maximum in the red spectral range when excited at 320 nm. The origin of this luminescence is suggested to be mainly related to quantum confinement.

Highly luminescent organic nanoparticles were formed by embedding hydrophobic and hydrophilic (CdSe)ZnS quantum dots with core/shell structure into ethyl cellulose nanoparticles. The nanoparticles were prepared from oil-in-water nanoemulsions by a phase inversion process at constant temperature, followed by a solvent evaporation. The obtained fluorescent ethyl cellulose nanoparticles were functionalized by immobilization of a specific antibody, and applied in rapid agglutination test for detection of Yersinia pestis F1-antigen.

Synthesis of well dispersed copper nanoparticles was achieved by reduction of copper nitrate in aqueous solution using hydrazine monohydrate as a reducer in the presence of preformed silver nanoparticles as catalysts. It has been demonstrated that addition of silver nanoparticles to the reaction mixture leads to formation of aqueous dispersion of copper nanoparticles and also results in a drastic reduction in reaction time compared to procedures reported in the literature. The absorption spectrum of the dispersions, HR-TEM and STEM images and XRD pattern indicate the formation of copper nanoparticles with particle size in the range of 5–50 nm.

We demonstrate that metallic rings formed spontaneously at room temperature via evaporation of aqueous drops containing silver nanoparticles (20-30 nm in diameter) exhibit high electrical conductivity (up to 15% of that for bulk silver). The mechanism underlying this self-assembly phenomena is the "ring stain effect", where self-pinning is combined with capillary flow to form a ring consisting of close-packed metallic nanoparticles along the perimeter of a drying droplet. Our macroscopic and microscopic (applying conductive atomic force microscopy) transport measurements show that the conductivity of the ring, which has a metallic brightness, is orders of magnitude larger than that of corresponding aggregates developed without the ring formation, where high conductivity is known to appear only after annealing at high temperature.

Two types of ink-jet inks are presented: ink containing an aqueous dispersion of silver nanoparticles and an oil-in-water microemulsion-based ink. The metallic ink contains nanoparticles of silver; which are formed in the presence of an ionic polymeric stabilizer. Sintering of the printed image obtained with the use of such silver-based inks at temperatures as low as 300 °C results in formation of patterns possessing noticeable conductivity. The microemulsion inks are based on a thermodynamically stable microemulsion, in which the dispersed oil phase is a volatile solvent containing a water-insoluble colorant. After contact of the jetted ink droplets with a substrate, nanodroplets of the microemulsion are converted into nanoparticles of the solubilized colorant. In some cases, it was found that the evaporation of microemulsion ink droplets leads to formation of rings composed of ordered nanoparticles.

Differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) and isothermal calorimetric batch technique were used to monitor the heat-induced structural changes and adsorption properties of human immunoglobulin G (IgG), in native and hydrophobized states. The transition temperature (T max) and enthalpy of heat-induced conformational changes (Δcal H) of IgG in solution as well as the enthalpy change accompanying the adsorption of IgG onto hydrophilic silica (Δads H), were shown to depend on the degree of the protein hydrophobicity (number of covalently attached alkyl chains). The adsorption enthalpy for all forms of IgG at all surface concentrations was found to be endothermic, that is the process is entropy driven. Factors affecting the IgG adsorption onto silica are discussed.

A new batch titration microcalorimeter has been used for estimation of thermodynamic properties in various investigated colloidal systems. As examples, we present enthalpic and kinetic data obtained from this calorimetric device for four different processes widely encountered in colloid science: (i) The dilution/micellization process of cationic gemini surfactants in aqueous solution. (ii) The hydration process of non ionic surfactants in organic solution, i.e. the mechanism of micellar solubilization of water in the aggregates. (iii) The complexation of calcium ions by polyacrylates sodium salts (PaNa). (iv) The adsorption phenomenon of PaNa molecules on the calcium carbonate surface.

The enzymatic activity of the native and modified glucose oxidase (GOx) from Aspergillus niger in the system of reversed micelles of Aerosol OT in octane was investigated. Two forms of the modified enzyme were studied: a hydrophobized form obtained by the attachment of palmitic chains to lysine amino groups by the reaction with palmitic acid ester of N -hydroxysuccinimide and a glycosylated (hydrophilized) form obtained by the attachment of the cellobiose moieties. The native glucose oxidase and its derivatives, while incorporated into micelles in a surfactant concentration range from 0.05 to 0.3 M, display an enzymatic activity, which is comparable with the activity in aqueous solution. The dependence of the enzymatic activity on hydration degree of surfactant (the molar ratio of water to surfactant, W 0 ) does not indicate the formation of qualitatively new associated forms of the enzyme subunits inside the micelles. The apparent size of Aerosol OT micelles obtained by dynamic light scattering gradually increases from 10±3 nm at low W 0 up to 25±5 nm at high W 0 . Incorporation of the native and hydrophobized glucose oxidase into micelles does not affect their mean size. Kinetic analysis shows that the enzyme specificity is about an order of magnitude greater in the system of reversed micelles as compared with aqueous solution.

The in situ adsorption/desorption studies of 14C-labeled human immunoglobulin G (IgG) were performed at the polyethylene (PE)/aqueous solution interface. The results reveal that the adsorbed protein molecules were predominantly packed in the end-on orientation. Desorption experiments showed that upon rinsing with buffer only minute fractions of adsorbed IgG could be removed from the PE surface. Both the competitive and the sequential adsorption measurements from the binary mixtures of hydrophobic IgG modified by attachment of 19 caprylic chains (19C8-IgG) and [14C]IgG confirm that native IgG strongly adhered to the PE films. The specific recognition ability of adsorbed human IgG layers was studied by using specific (goat anti-human) IgG and nonspecific (goat anti-rabbit) IgG. It was shown that the prevailing effect of the interaction of [14C]IgG adsorbed onto PE with the specific antibody was the increase in the surface radioactivity, which was attributed to the formation of a more densely packed layer of IgG molecules at the PE surface. It was also demonstrated that, whereas the specific antibody preadsorbed onto PE films retained the recognition ability relative to human IgG, its hydrophobic modification resulted in a substantial decrease in this ability.

Adsorption onto silica of native human IgG and its hydrophobized forms prepared by covalent attachment of 11, 25, and 52 C8 alkyl chains was studied. All hydrophobized IgGs spontaneously form micellelike aggregates (nanoclusters) in aqueous solutions with a mean diameter of 40 ± 2 nm. Adsorption isotherms are of a high affinity type. The plateau surface concentration of the isotherms depends on the degree of the protein modification, increasing for 11C8−IgG and 25C8−IgG and decreasing for 52C8−IgG as compared with the native protein. The isothermal enthalpies of adsorption for the native and modified IgGs at all degrees of silica surface coverage were found to be endothermic, that is, the adsorption process is entropically driven. For the native IgG, the adsorption isotherm is apparently reversible, while the isotherms for the modified forms display distinct hysteresis. The biological (immunological) activity of the desorbed molecules was evaluated, and it was found that all forms of IgG which were desorb...

This review describes the interfacial behavior of biomolecules, which were converted to more hydrophobic derivatives by covalent attachment of hydrophobic chains. The molecules presented are proteins (glucose oxidase, immunoglobulin G, gelatin, ovalbumin) and polysaccharides (carboxymethylcellulose, pullulan). In general, it was found that such hydrophobically modified biomolecules have enhanced surface activity and ability to penetrate into phospholipid monolayers. In addition, it has been demonstrated, that such molecules can be used as efficient emulsifiers and foaming agents, and in unique biomedical application based on combining the surface activity and recognition ability. †Visiting Professor at Casali Institute of Applied Chemistry.

Sodium reduction of a mixture of tetrabromosilane with imidazole ionic liquids in organic solvents gives dispersions of silicon nanoparticles stabilized by carbene ligands. It was shown that the size of silicon nanoclusters depends on the size of substituents at nitrogen atoms of 1,3-dialkylimidazol-2-ylidenes.

A novel fluorescence immunoassay based on specific interaction of an antibody with an antigen preadsorbed onto fluorescer (perylene) microparticles (mean diameter 0.8–1.0 μm) is described. The microparticles of perylene are formed by precipitation in IgG solution, and the obtained dispersion is stable in the protein at concentrations higher than 1 mg ml −1 . Dissolving the particles in a suitable solvent leads to fluorescence when exciting by light of a proper wavelength. The dependencies of the fluorescence intensity on the concentrations of antigen, antibody and fluorescer were studied.

Covalent modification of human IgG and gelatin (type A) by fatty acid esters (C8, C12 and C16) of N-hydroxysuccinimide was carried out. Preparations of hydrophobized IgG containing 9 and 25 attached caprylic and 25 palmitic chains and preparations of gelatin with low and high degree of modification were obtained. The adsorption of unmodified and modified proteins at a hydrophobic surface obtained by coating silica with a phosphatidyl choline monolayer was studied. It was found that an increase in the proteins’ hydrophobicity leads to an increase in their adsorption determining by hydrophobic binding which overcomes the electrostatic repulsion between the negatively charged surface and the negatively charged protein molecules. An increase in the IgG hydrophobicity also resulted in the formation of a more compact monolayer. An increase in gelatin adsorption after its hydrophobization led to either the formation of a more compact monolayer or the formation of a more condensed molecular configuration after attachment of alkyl chains. For both proteins the adsorption can be accompanied by penetration of these chains into the phospholipid monolayer.

The penetrant ability of the native glucose oxidase, GOx, and of the hydrophobically modified enzyme GO(mod) realized by grafting to its lysine residues alkyl C16 chains, into phosphatidylcholine dibehenoyl (DBPC), phosphatidylcholine dipalmitoyl (DPPC), phosphatidyl-ethanolamine dipalmitoyl (DPPE), phosphatidyl-serine dipalmitoyl (DPPS), and cholesterol (CHOL) monolayers was assessed by surface pressure measurements at constant area by enzyme injection to the aqueous phase beneath spread monolayers. As revealed by the magnitude of surface pressure increments (DeltaPi), both the quantities and the rates of penetration of the enzymes into these monolayers were lipid chemical nature and enzyme concentration dependent. When compared with GOx, GO(mod) displayed an enhanced penetrant ability into all the studied monolayers that resulted in rapidly attained DeltaPi plateau values, characteristic of stable systems. The influence of lipid hydrocarbon chain length and of the polar headgroup charge on the efficiency and effectiveness of GOx and GO(mod) penetration into these monolayers is discussed. Copyright 1999 Academic Press.

A novel chemiluminescence immunoassay which combines microparticles and microemulsion is described. The method is based on a specific interaction of an antibody with an antigen preadsorbed onto fluorescer (perylene) microparticles (mean diameter 0.8–1.6 μm). Dissolving the particles in a microemulsion-forming mixture containing bis(2,4,6-trichlorophenyl) oxalate in toluene (oil phase) and H2O2 in Triton X-100 (surfactant)/2-butanol (cosurfactant)/water leads to chemiluminescence. The dependence of the chemiluminescence intensity on the concentrations of antigen, antibody and fluorescer, as well as the kinetics of the chemiluminescence decay, were studied.

Corrigendum: Merging of metal nanoparticles driven by selective wettability of silver nanostructures

The welding and sintering of nanomaterials is relevant, for example, to form electrical contacts between metallic particles in printed electronic devices. Usually the welding of nanoparticles is achieved at high temperatures. Here we find that merging of two different metals, silver and gold nanoparticles, occurs on contact at room temperature. The merging process was investigated by experimental and molecular dynamics simulations. We discovered that the merging of these particles is driven by selective wettability of silver nanoparticles, independent of their size and shape (spheres or rods); silver behaves as a soft matter, whereas gold as a hard surface being wetted and retaining its original morphology. During that process, the silver atoms move towards the surface of the Au nanoparticles and wrap the Au nanoparticles in a pulling up-like process, leading to the wetting of Au nanoparticles.

In order to develop a prediction model for resistivity evolution during isothermal sintering, a commercial silver nanoparticle ink was characterized for its metal content, particle size and behavior upon heating. Electrical properties, mass loss behavior, grain size development and material densification were studied for thermal sintering at 175 degrees C. The correlation between mass loss, height loss of the resulting sintered structures, grain size and electrical resistivity was investigated to gain further understanding of the silver nanoparticle sintering process. The results of thermal sintering were used to calibrate a discrete element sintering model that provides microstructural properties with which the resistivity development at 150 and 200 degrees C was successfully predicted. The model was validated by experimental data obtained at these temperatures. A variation of particle size and particle size distribution in the simulations furthermore illustrate their influence on final resistivity showing that using small particles with a broad distribution are preferable for reducing the final resistivity of the inkjet-printed pattern.