Preparing of Highly Conductive Patterns on Flexible Substrates by Screen Printing of Silver Nanoparticles with Different Size Distribution

A facile one-step polyol method is employed to synthesize the Ag nanoparticles (NPs) in large scale. The Ag NPs with different average diameter (from 52 to 120 nm) and particle size distribution are prepared by changing the mass ratio of AgNO3 and PVP. Furthermore, the as-obtained Ag NPs are prepared as conductive inks, which could be screen printed on various flexible substrates and formed as conductive patterns after sintering treatment. During the reaction process, PVP is used as the capping reagent for preventing the agglomeration of Ag NPs, and the influence of the mass ratio of AgNO3 and PVP to the size distribution of Ag NPs is investigated. The results of electronic properties reveal that the conductivity of printed patterns is highly dependent on the size distribution of as-obtained Ag NPs. Among all the samples, the optimal conductivity is obtained when the mass ratio of AgNO3 and PVP is 1:0.4. Subsequently, the sintering time and temperature are further investigated for obtaining the best conductivity; the optimal electrical resistivity value of 3.83 μΩ · cm is achieved at 160 °C for 75 min, which is close to the resistivity value of the bulk silver (1.58 μΩ · cm). Significantly, there are many potential advantages in printed electronics applications because of the as-synthesized Ag NPs with a low sintering temperature and low electrical resistivity.