Metallic Nanofiber Ink, Substantially Transparent Conductor, and Fabrication Method

• Main Authors: LOWENTHAL MARK DAVID, LEWANDOWSKI MARK, CHESLER DAVID MICHAEL, BALDRIDGE JEFFREY, ZHENG LIXIN
• Format: Patent
• Language: English
• Published: 02.06.2016
• Subjects: ADHESIVES; CHEMICAL PAINT OR INK REMOVERS; CHEMICAL SURFACE TREATMENT; CHEMISTRY; COATING BY VACUUM EVAPORATION, BY SPUTTERING, BY ION IMPLANTATIONOR BY CHEMICAL VAPOUR DEPOSITION, IN GENERAL; COATING BY VACUUM EVAPORATION, BY SPUTTERING, BY IONIMPLANTATION OR BY CHEMICAL VAPOUR DEPOSITION, IN GENERAL; COATING COMPOSITIONS, e.g. PAINTS, VARNISHES ORLACQUERS; COATING MATERIAL WITH METALLIC MATERIAL; COATING METALLIC MATERIAL; CORRECTING FLUIDS; DIFFUSION TREATMENT OF METALLIC MATERIAL; DYES; FILLING PASTES; INHIBITING CORROSION OF METALLIC MATERIAL OR INCRUSTATION INGENERAL; INKS; METALLURGY; MISCELLANEOUS APPLICATIONS OF MATERIALS; MISCELLANEOUS COMPOSITIONS; NATURAL RESINS; PAINTS; PASTES OR SOLIDS FOR COLOURING OR PRINTING; POLISHES; SURFACE TREATMENT OF METALLIC MATERIAL BY DIFFUSION INTO THESURFACE, BY CHEMICAL CONVERSION OR SUBSTITUTION; USE OF MATERIALS THEREFOR; WOODSTAINS

An exemplary printable composition comprises a liquid or gel suspension of a plurality of metallic nanofibers or nanowires; a first solvent; and a viscosity modifier, resin, or binder. In various embodiments, the metallic nanofibers are between about 10 microns to about 100 microns in length, are between about 10 nm to about 120 nm in diameter, and are typically functionalized with a coating or partial coating of polyvinyl pyrrolidone or a similar compound. An exemplary metallic nanofiber ink which can be printed to produce a substantially transparent conductor comprises a plurality of metallic nanofibers; one or more solvents such as 1-butanol, ethanol, 1-pentanol, n-methylpyrrolidone, cyclohexanone, cyclopentanone, 1-hexanol, acetic acid, cyclohexanol, or mixtures thereof; and a viscosity modifier, resin, or binder such as polyvinyl pyrrolidone or a polyimide, for example.