Nitrocellulose-stabilized silver nanoparticles as low conversion temperature precursors useful for inkjet printed electronics

Silver nanoparticles were synthesized from silver nitrate and methanol and stabilized by the use of nitrocellulose and 3-aminopropyl alcohol. These colloidal solutions were found to be very stable, with no evidence of silver aggregation over a period of 9 months, and displayed properties (viscosity, surface tension and size of the nanoparticles) compatible with inkjet printing technologies. The two main advantages of using nitrocellulose are its ability to stabilize silver nanoparticles and its low converison temperature (degradation starts at 135 °C, and the typical annealing temperature was 190 °C). For the annealing of the precursor films, two different heating methods and their effect on the kinetics of degradation and morphology of the final cured films have been investigated.