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Copper has received considerable attention for conductive nanocomposites as an alternative to costly silver or gold. However, practical application has been impeded by its susceptibility to oxidation in air. Here we report a novel scalable synthesis method of non-oxidized copper nanoparticles (InSituCuNPs) by pre-mixing and in-situ reducing copper formate-(butylamine-octylamine) complex inside soft epoxy matrix. The solid–liquid phase change of the copper formate complex, during the nanocomposite spark-plasma-sintering process, promotes uniform dispersion. Even the outermost atoms of InSituCuNPs are not oxidized since they are surrounded by the thick matrix polymer as soon as in-situ reduced into metallic copper, resulting in high electrical (15,048 Scm−1) and thermal (28.4 Wm−1K−1) conductivities of the nanocomposite. Furthermore, a small addition of 1-dimensional carbon nanotubes decorated with 0-dimensional copper nanoparticles (

The dependence of the electrical resistance on materials’ geometry determines the performance of conductive nanocomposites. Here, we report the invariable resistance of a conductive nanocomposite over 30% strain. This is enabled by the in situ–generated hierarchically structured silver nanosatellite particles, realizing a short interparticle distance (4.37 nm) in a stretchable silicone rubber matrix. Furthermore, the barrier height is tuned to be negligible by matching the electron affinity of silicone rubber to the work function of silver. The stretching results in the electron flow without additional scattering in the silicone rubber matrix. The transport is changed to quantum tunneling if the barrier height is gradually increased by using different matrix polymers with smaller electron affinities, such as ethyl vinyl acetates and thermoplastic polyurethane. The tunneling current decreases with increasing strain, which is accurately described by the Simmons approximation theory. The tunable transport in nanocomposites provides an advancement in the design of stretchable conductors.

Copper (Cu) nanoparticles (NPs) have received extensive interest owing to their advantageous properties compared with their bulk counterparts. Although the natural oxidation of Cu NPs can be alleviated by passivating the surfaces with additional moieties, obtaining non-oxidized bare Cu NPs in air remains challenging. Here we report that bare Cu NPs with surface excess electrons retain their non-oxidized state over several months in ambient air. Cu NPs grown on an electride support with excellent electron transfer ability are encapsulated by the surface-accumulated excess electrons, exhibiting an ultralow work function of ~3.2 eV. Atomic-scale structural and chemical analyses confirm the absence of Cu oxide moiety at the outermost surface of air-exposed bare Cu NPs. Theoretical energetics clarify that the surface-accumulated excess electrons suppress the oxygen adsorption and consequently prohibit the infiltration of oxygen into the Cu lattice, provoking the endothermic reaction for oxidation process. Our results will further stimulate the practical use of metal NPs in versatile applications.

It is important to construct effective electrical network to achieve high electrical conductivity of soft polymer matrix composites. We previously employed one-dimensional multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWNTs) decorated with silver nanoparticles (nAg-MWNTs) and micron-sized silver flakes in a nitrile butadiene rubber matrix to develop highly conductive flexible adhesive (CFA) films. However, the effect of intrinsic physical properties of MWNTs on the conductivity of CFA was not explored in detail. Here we investigated the influence of crystalline defects and geometry factors of MWNTs on the electrical conductivity of CFA films. The nAg-MWNTs were synthesized using five different MWNTs. The electrical conductivity of the CFA films decreased significantly with an increase in Raman D- to G-mode ratio demonstrating the crystallinity effect. There was the tube diameter dependence. The conductivity increased as the diameter of MWNTs decreased. The dispersion was also a determining factor. The strongly entangled structure of MWNTs originated from the initial synthesis process caused aggregation of tubes in the polymer matrix resulting in a low conductivity of CFA film. However, the tube length dependence was not obvious in the investigated range (5–20 μm). It was possible that all the tubes were long enough not to differentiate the length effect on percolation. These findings may provide a guideline for selection of MWNTs to achieve high conductivity of flexible composites.

Silver has long been employed as an electrically conductive component, and morphology-dependent properties have been actively investigated. Here we present a novel scalable synthesis method of flower-shaped silver nanoparticles (silver nanoflowers, Ag NFs). The preferential affinity of citrate molecules on (111) surface of silver enabled spontaneous anisotropic growth of Ag NFs (bud size: 250~580 nm, single crystalline petal thickness: 9~22 nm) with high reproducibility and a high yield of >99.5%. The unique hierarchical structure resulted in coalescence of petals over 80~120 °C which was practically employed in conductive inks to construct percolation pathways among Ag NFs. The ink with only 3 wt% of Ag NFs provided two orders of magnitude greater conductivity (1.008 × 105 Scm−1), at a low curing temperature of 120 °C, compared with the silver nanoparticle ink with a much higher silver concentration (50 wt%). This extraordinary property may provide an excellent opportunity for Ag NFs for practical applications in printable and flexible electronics.

An easy synthetic protocol for the peptide randomization of 3,5-dicyano pyridine derivatives by linking the pyridine core with a coumarin chromophore spaced by a linker triazole via copper (I) catalyzed [3+2] azide-alkyne cycloaddition (CuAAC) is described. The new peptidomimetics thus obtained are extended rule of 5 (eRo5) molecules suitable for the development of therapeutic agents for undruggable targets. The structural and photophysical properties of the molecules are also promising for the development of potential bio imaging agents based on these molecules.

Highly conductive flexible adhesive (CFA) film was developed using micro-sized silver flakes (primary fillers), hybrids of silver nanoparticle–nanowires (secondary fillers) and nitrile butadiene rubber. The hybrids of silver nanoparticle–nanowires were synthesized by decorating silver nanowires with silver nanoparticle clusters using bifunctional cysteamine as a linker. The dispersion in ethanol was excellent for several months. Silver nanowires constructed electrical networks between the micro-scale silver flakes. The low-temperature surface sintering of silver nanoparticles enabled effective joining of silver nanowires to silver flakes. The hybrids of silver nanoparticle–nanowires provided a greater maximum conductivity (54 390 S cm−1) than pure silver nanowires, pure multiwalled carbon nanotubes, and multiwalled carbon nanotubes decorated with silver nanoparticles in nitrile butadiene rubber matrix. The resistance change was smallest upon bending when the hybrids of silver nanoparticle–nanowires were employed. The adhesion of the film on polyethylene terephthalate substrate was excellent. Light emitting diodes were successfully wired to the CFA circuit patterned by the screen printing method for application demonstration.

Soft conductive materials should enable large deformation while keeping high electrical conductivity and elasticity. The graphene oxide (GO)-based sponge is a potential candidate to endow large deformation. However, it typically exhibits low conductivity and elasticity. Here, the highly conductive and elastic sponge composed of GO, flower-shaped silver nanoparticles (AgNFs), and polyimide (GO-AgNF-PI sponge) are demonstrated. The average pore size and porosity are 114 µm and 94.7%, respectively. Ag NFs have thin petals (8-20 nm) protruding out of the surface of a spherical bud (300-350 nm) significantly enhancing the specific surface area (2.83 m2 g-1 ). The electrical conductivity (0.306 S m-1 at 0% strain) of the GO-AgNF-PI sponge is increased by more than an order of magnitude with the addition of Ag NFs. A nearly perfect elasticity is obtained over a wide compressive strain range (0-90%). The strain-dependent, nonlinear variation of Young's modulus of the sponge provides a unique opportunity as a variable stiffness stress sensor that operates over a wide stress range (0-10 kPa) with a high maximum sensitivity (0.572 kPa-1 ). It allows grasping of a soft rose and a hard bottle, with the minimal object deformation, when attached on the finger of a robot gripper.

Silver nanowires have attracted much attention for use in flexible transparent conductive films (TCFs) due to their low sheet resistance and flexibility. However, the haze was too high for replacing indium-tin-oxide in high-quality display devices. Herein, we report flexible TCFs, which were prepared using a scalable bar-coating method, with a low sheet resistance (24.1 Ω/sq at 96.4% transmittance) and a haze (1.04%) that is comparable to that of indium-tin-oxide TCFs. To decrease the haze and maintain a low sheet resistance, small diameter silver nanowires (~20 nm) were functionalized with low-temperature surface-sintering silver nanoparticles (~5 nm) using bifunctional cysteamine. The silver nanowire-nanoparticle ink stability was excellent. The sheet resistance of the TCFs was decreased by 29.5% (from 34.2 to 24.1 Ω/sq) due to the functionalization at a low curing temperature of 85 °C. The TCFs were highly flexible and maintained their stability for more than 2 months and 10,000 bending cycles after coating with a protective layer.

There has been considerable attention paid to highly conductive flexible adhesive (CFA) materials as electrodes and interconnectors for future flexible electronic devices. However, the patterning technology still needs to be developed to construct micro-scale electrodes and circuits. Here we developed the selective laser sintering technology where the pattering and curing were accomplished simultaneously without making additional masks. The CFA was composed of micro-scale Ag flakes, multiwalled carbon nanotubes decorated with Ag nanoparticles, and a nitrile–butadiene–rubber matrix. The Teflon-coated polyethylene terephthalate film was used as a flexible substrate. The width of lines (50–500 μm) and circuit patterns were controlled by the programmable scanning of a focused laser beam (power = 50 mW, scanning speed = 1 mm s−1). The laser irradiation removed solvent and induced effective coalescence among fillers providing a conductivity as high as 25 012 S cm−1. The conductivity stability was excellent under the ambient air and humid environments. The normalized resistance change of the pattern was smaller than 1.2 at the bending radius of 5 mm. The cyclability and adhesion of the laser-sintered line pattern on the substrate was excellent. A flexible circuit was fabricated sequentially for operating light emitting diodes during the bending motion, demonstrating excellent feasibility for practical applications in flexible electronics.