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IMAGE: (left) Digital inkjet printing of inks containing metal nanoparticles with in-situ solvent evaporation (pinning). (right) Optical and chemical images of a printed layer of silver nanoparticles showing organic residues at. view more
Credit: Gustavo Trindade
Inks containing metal nanoparticles are among the most commonly-used conductive materials for printed electronics. Ink-jetting layers of MNP materials allows for unpreceded design flexibility, rapid processing and 3D printing of functional electronic devices such as sensors, solar panels, LED displays, transistors and smart textiles.
Inkjet 3D printing of metals typically form a solid printed object via a two-step process: solvent evaporation upon printing (pinning) and subsequent low-temperature consolidation of nanoparticles (sintering). The low temperature is important as in many applications the nanoparticles are co-printed with other functional/structural organic materials that are sensitive to h