Functionalized Gold Nanoparticles with a Cohesion Enhancer for Robust Flexible Electrodes

Im, Jisun; Trindade, Gustavo F.; Quach, Tien Thuy; Sohaib, Ali; Wang, Feiran; Austin, Jonathan; Turyanska, Lyudmila; Roberts, Clive J.; Wildman, Ricky; Hague, Richard; Tuck, Christopher

Abstract

The development of conductive inks is required to enable additive manufacturing of electronic components and devices. A gold nanoparticle (AuNP) ink is of particular interest due to its high electrical conductivity, chemical stability, and biocompatibility. However, a printed AuNP film suffers from thermally induced microcracks and pores that lead to the poor integrity of a printed electronic component and electrical failure under external mechanical deformation, hence limiting its application for flexible electronics. Here, we employ a multifunctional thiol as a cohesion enhancer in the AuNP ink to prevent the formation of microcracks and pores by mediating the cohesion of AuNPs via strong interaction between the thiol groups and the gold surface. The inkjet-printed AuNP electrode exhibits an electrical conductivity of 3.0 × 106 S/m and stable electrical properties under repeated cycles (>1000) of mechanical deformation even for a single printed layer and in a salt-rich phosphate-buffered saline solution, offering exciting potential for applications in flexible and 3D electronics as well as in bioelectronics and healthcare devices.

Citation

Im, J., Trindade, G. F., Quach, T. T., Sohaib, A., Wang, F., Austin, J., …Tuck, C. (2022). Functionalized Gold Nanoparticles with a Cohesion Enhancer for Robust Flexible Electrodes. ACS Applied Nano Materials, 5(5), 6708-6716. https://doi.org/10.1021/acsanm.2c00742

• Journal Article Type: Article
• Acceptance Date: Apr 6, 2022
• Online Publication Date: Apr 25, 2022
• Publication Date: May 27, 2022
• Deposit Date: Apr 7, 2022
• Publicly Available Date: Jun 8, 2022
• Journal: ACS Applied Nano Materials
• Print ISSN: 2574-0970
• Electronic ISSN: 2574-0970
• Publisher: American Chemical Society (ACS)
• Peer Reviewed: Peer Reviewed
• Volume: 5
• Issue: 5
• Pages: 6708-6716
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1021/acsanm.2c00742
• Keywords: General Materials Science
• Public URL: https://nottingham-repository.worktribe.com/output/7711891
• Publisher URL: https://pubs.acs.org/doi/10.1021/acsanm.2c00742