Development of high concentrated aqueous silver nanofluid and inkjet printing on ceramic substrates

In this paper, the formulation of a high Ag loading (45 wt%) aqueous ink and its subsequent printing on three different ceramic substrates were reported. Monodispersed Ag nanoparticles with a size down to 10 nm were successfully synthesized in aqueous medium. These nanoparticles were then successfully dispersed up to 45 wt% in aqueous medium with the aid of a co-polymer, Pluronic F127. The printed tracks show the electrical conductivity of 3 μΩ cm close to the value of silver bulk (1.6 μΩ cm). The use of high solid loading inks reduces the number of printed layers required for thick, dense and conductive film thus leading to the reduction of the costs, and high efficiency of the printing process. High solid loading also results in the finer printed features. The effect of substrates, printing temperature and dot spacing on the size and morphology of printed silver features was investigated. Increasing the dot spacing together with the substrates temperature resulted in the limited ink spreading, hence narrow printed line and improved geometry of printed patterns.