Characteristics of indium-tin-oxide (ITO) nanoparticle ink-coated layers recycled from ITO scraps

• Published in: Journal of the Korean Physical Society Vol. 67; no. 6; pp. 986 - 990
• Main Authors: Cha, Seung-Jae, Hong, Sung-Jei, Lee, Jae Yong
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Seoul The Korean Physical Society 01.09.2015; 한국물리학회
• Subjects: Mathematical and Computational Physics; Particle and Nuclear Physics; Physics; Physics and Astronomy; Theoretical; 물리학; Scrap; Recycling; Transparent conductive electrode; ITO; Nanoparticle; Ink
• ISSN: 0374-4884; 1976-8524
• DOI: 10.3938/jkps.67.986

This study investigates the characteristics of an indium-tin-oxide (ITO) ink layer that includes nanoparticles synthesized from ITO target scraps. The particle size of the ITO nanoparticle was less than 15 nm, and the crystal structure was cubic with a (222) preferred orientation. Also, the composition ratio of In to Sn was 92.7 to 7.3 in weight. The ITO nanoparticles were well dispersed in the ink solvent to formulate a 20-wt% ITO nanoparticle ink. Furthermore, the ITO nanoparticle ink was coated onto a glass substrate, followed by heat-treatment at 600 °C. The layer showed good sheet resistances below 400 Ω/□ and optical transmittances higher than 88% at 550 nm. Thus, we can conclude that the characteristics of the layer make it highly applicable to a transparent conductive electrode.