Young-In Lee

Adhesion enhancement of ink-jet printed conductive copper patterns on a flexible substrate

Ink-jet printed conductive copper patterns with enhanced substrate adhesion were fabricated using a conductive copper ink containing a silane coupling agent as an adhesion promoter. The effect of the silane coupling agent on the copper complex ion ink properties, including viscosity and surface tension, was systematically investigated. The copper complex ion ink that was ink-jet printed on a polyimide film was transformed to copper films by thermal treatment at 200 °C for 2 h in H2. The phase, microstructure, resistivity and peel strength were examined by X-ray diffraction, field emission scanning electron microscopy, the four-point probe technique, the 90° peel test and the ASTM D3359 tape test. The proper amount of silane coupling agent was determined according to the electrical conductivities and adhesive strengths of the ink-jet printed copper patterns containing varied amounts of adhesion promoter. As a result, the patterns formed from copper complex ion ink containing 3 wt% silane coupling agent exhibited not only the highest peel strength (240.3 gf mm−1 and 4B) but also low resistivity (approx. 20 μΩ cm). The mechanism of adhesion promotion via the silane coupling agent was also suggested.

Nanopeapods by Galvanic Displacement Reaction

complex configurationswith discretely positioned particles within a wire or tubestructure, deemed inorganic nanopeapods, have proved mostchallenging. Nanopeapods are comprised of a discontinuousinterface system that has recently attracted attention forenhancement of thermoelectric, sensing, and photovoltaiccharacteristics with similar platforms. These features are aconsequence of the difference in physical properties of thematerials at the interfaces and confinement effects of thenanoparticles, which have the ability to cause biased scatter-ing of photons and phonons, modulation of charge carriermobility/concentration, and surface plasmon enhanced pho-tocurrent.

Effect of Complex Agent on Characteristics of Copper Conductive Pattern Formed by Ink-jet Printing

In this study, Cu ion complex ink was successfully synthesized by a modified electrolysis method in which the Cu ions generated from bulk metal plates by an electric field were coordinated with complex agents. The synthesized ink was ink-jet-printed on a flexible substrate and converted to a dense Cu pattern after sintering at 250 °C. The pattern was characterized by X-ray diffractometry, field emission scanning electron microscope, and four-point probe method to confirm the crystal structure, microstructure, and electrical conductivity, respectively. The effect of the type of complex agent on the characteristics of a Cu conductive pattern was also determined using the analysis results. Finally, we conducted the direct writing of conductive dots and lines using the Cu ion complex ink, and confirmed that fine patterning for application in electronics is possible with the Cu ion complex ink.

Enhanced electrical and mechanical properties of silver nanoplatelet-based conductive features direct printed on a flexible substrate.

Noncontact direct printed conductive silver patterns with an enhanced flexural and bending strength and a proper electrical resistivity were fabricated using silver nanoplatelet inks without any surfactants for particle dispersion on a polyimide film. The microstructure, electrical resistivity, and bending strength of conductive features based on the nanoplatelets are systematically investigated and compared to nanoparticles to demonstrate superior properties. Nanoplatelets stack neatly on the substrate after noncontact direct printing, which minimizes void formation during sintering. This microstructure results in excellent resistivity on external repetitive bending stress as well as sufficiently lower electrical resistivity. It is believed to be a general conductive material to fabricate the noncontact direct printed conductive patterns with excellent mechanical stability for various flexible electronics, including solar cells, displays, RFID, and sensors.

Wettability investigation of UV/O 3 and acid functionalized MWCNT and MWCNT/PMMA nanocomposites by contact angle measurement

The dispersion state of individual MWCNT in the polymer matrix influences the mechanical, thermal, and electrical properties of the resulting composite. One method of obtaining a good dispersion state of MWCNT in a polymer matrix is to functionalize the surface of MWCNT using various treatments to enhance the surface energy and increase the dispersibility of MWCNT. In this study, wettability and surface energy of UV/O3 and acid-treated multiwall carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) and its polymethyl methacrylate (PMMA) polymer nanocomposites were measured using contact angle analysis in various solvent media. Contact angle analysis was based on ethylene glycol-water-glycerol probe liquid set and data was further fitted into geometric mean (Fowkes), van Oss-Chaudhury-Good (GvOC), and Chang-Qing-Chen (CQC) models to determine both nonpolar and acid base surface energy components. Analysis was conducted on MWCNT thin films subjected to different levels of UV/O3 and acid treatments as well as their resulting MWCNT/PMMA nanocomposites. Contact angle analysis of thin films and nanocomposites revealed that the total surface energy of all samples was well fitted with each other. In addition, CQC model was able to determine the surface nature and polarity of MWCNT and its nanocomposites. Results indicated that the wettability changes in the thin filmand its nanocomposites are due to the change in surface chemistry. Finally, electrical properties of nanocomposites were measured to investigate the effect of surface functionality (acid or basic) on the MWCNT surfaces.

Enzyme mediated synthesis of phytochelatin-capped CdS nanocrystals

We reported the enzyme mediated synthesis of CdS nanocrystals by immobilized phytochelatin synthase, which converts glutathione into the metal-binding peptide phytochelatin (PC). Formation of CdS nanocrystals were observed upon the addition of CdCl2 and Na2S with PC as the capping agent. By varying the reaction times, different compositions of PCs (form PC2 to PC3) can be synthesized, resulting in the formation of highly stable nanocrystals with tunable sizes (from 2.0 to 1.6 nm diameter). This approach may be generalized to guide the in vitro self assembly of a wide range of nanocrystals with different compositions and sizes.

Programmable synthesis of shape-, structure-, and composition-modulated one-dimensional heterostructures by galvanic displacement reaction

One-dimensional heterostructures consisting of periodically modulated bismuth telluride tube/wire were synthesized by galvanic displacement reaction of Co/Ni multi-segmented sacrificial nanowires. Utilizing the difference in redox potential and corrosion behavior of Co and Ni, segments, dimension, composition, and structure of the individual segments were also precisely engineered. The programmable ability to synthesize heterostructures with simultaneously modulation of various dimensions in ambient conditions may lead to an effective route to synthesize high performance nanodevices including nanoelectronics, optoelectronics, sensors, and thermoelectrics.

Thermochemical hydrogen sensor based on chalcogenide nanowire arrays.

The hydrogen gas-sensing properties have been investigated of two types of thermochemical hydrogen (TCH) sensors composed of thermoelectric layers based on chalcogenide nanowire arrays and anodic aluminum oxide (AAO) templates. The monomorphic-type TCH sensor, which had only Bi2Te3 nanowire arrays, showed an output signal of 23.7 μV in response to 5 vol% hydrogen gas at room temperature, whereas an output signal of 215 μV was obtained from an n-p junction-type TCH sensor made of connected Bi2Te3 and Sb2Te3 nanowire arrays in an AAO template. Despite its small deposition area, the output signal of the n-p sensor was more than nine times that of the monomorphic sensor. This observation can be explained by the difference in electrical connections (parallel and serial conversions) in the TCH sensor between each type of nanowire array. Also, our n-p sensor had a wide detection range for hydrogen gas (from 400 ppm to 45 vol%) and a fast response time of 1.3 s at room temperature without requiring external power.

A Novel Method for Fine Patterning by Piezoelectrically Induced Pressure Adjustment of Inkjet Printing

In this paper, a method is proposed for fine line pattern formation on polyimide films by drop-on-demand inkjet printing without the need to reduce the nozzle size. The rapid change in the shape of a piezoelectric actuator caused by a pressure wave causes the fluid to be ejected as droplets. By shortening the duration of the chamber compression period, smaller droplets can be ejected from the nozzle orifice. The pressure wave is a key factor in determination of the line width. A 20-µm-wide line pattern pulsed at 0.5 µs intervals was successfully fabricated using a Cu complex ion ink and a cartridge with volume of 1 pl. This method is expected to be widely used in various applications that demand high-resolution patterning. The 20-µm line width of the conducting track is a particularly useful size for fabrication of transparent electrodes.

Synthesis of Silver Nanofibers Via an Electrospinning Process and Two-Step Sequential Thermal Treatment and Their Application to Transparent Conductive Electrodes

【Metal nanowires can be coated on various substrates to create transparent conducting films that can potentially replace the dominant transparent conductor, indium tin oxide, in displays, solar cells, organic light-emitting diodes, and electrochromic windows. One issue with these metal nanowire based transparent conductive films is that the resistance between the nanowires is still high because of their low aspect ratio. Here, we demonstrate high-performance transparent conductive films with silver nanofiber networks synthesized by a low-cost and scalable electrospinning process followed by two-step sequential thermal treatments. First, the PVP/