Room temperature compressed air-stable conductive copper films for flexible electronics

Pereira, H. Jessica; Makarovsky, Oleg; Amabilino, David. B.; Newton, Graham N.

Abstract

The state-of-the-art technology of fabricating printed copper electronics is focussed largely on thermal sintering restricting transition towards heat sensitive flexible substrates. Herein we report a pioneering technology which eliminates the need for conventional sintering. Biopolymer-stabilised copper particles are prepared such that they can be compressed at room temperature to generate air-stable films with very low resistivities (2.05 – 2.33 × 10−8 Ω m at 20 °C). A linear positive correlation of resistivity with temperature verifies excellent metallic character and electron microscopy confirms the formation of films with low porosity (< 4.6%). An aqueous ink formulation is used to fabricate conductive patterns on filter paper, first using a fountain/dip pen and then printing to deposit more defined patterns (R < 2 Ω). The remarkable conductivity and stability of the films, coupled with the sustainability of the approach could precipitate a paradigm-shift in the use of copper inks for printable electronics.

Citation

Pereira, H. J., Makarovsky, O., Amabilino, D. B., & Newton, G. N. (2024). Room temperature compressed air-stable conductive copper films for flexible electronics. npj Flexible Electronics, 8, Article 44. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41528-024-00331-1

• Journal Article Type: Article
• Acceptance Date: Jul 19, 2024
• Online Publication Date: Jul 27, 2024
• Publication Date: Jul 27, 2024
• Deposit Date: Sep 13, 2024
• Publicly Available Date: Sep 16, 2024
• Journal: npj Flexible Electronics
• Print ISSN: 2397-4621
• Electronic ISSN: 2397-4621
• Publisher: Nature Research
• Peer Reviewed: Peer Reviewed
• Volume: 8
• Article Number: 44
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41528-024-00331-1
• Public URL: https://nottingham-repository.worktribe.com/output/37858826
• Publisher URL: https://www.nature.com/articles/s41528-024-00331-1