Self-Organizing, Environmentally Stable, and Low-Cost Copper-Nickel Complex Inks for Printed Flexible Electronics

Area of Science:

• Materials Science
• Nanotechnology
• Electronics Engineering

Background:

• Silver conductive inks are expensive for printed electronics.
• Copper conductive inks face challenges with stability and high sintering temperatures.
• Need for cost-effective, stable conductive inks for flexible electronics.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop stable, cost-effective copper-nickel complex inks for printed electronics.
• To enable low-temperature processing and photon sintering of copper-based conductive patterns.
• To enhance the performance and reliability of flexible electronic devices.

Main Methods:

• Synthesis of rapidly customizable, particle-free copper-nickel complex inks.
• In situ formation of copper@nickel core-shell nanostructures during low-temperature annealing.
• Photon irradiation for immediate sintering into copper-nickel alloy patterns on flexible substrates.

Main Results:

• Copper-nickel alloy patterns achieved high conductivity (19-67 μΩ·cm).
• Excellent oxidation resistance at 180 °C, even with low nickel content (6 wt %).
• Demonstrated high flexibility and mechanical anchoring on flexible substrates.

Conclusions:

• The developed copper-nickel complex inks are suitable for large-area screen printing and additive manufacturing.
• These inks offer a viable, cost-effective alternative to silver inks for high-performance flexible electronics.
• Potential applications include flexible radio-frequency identification (RFID) tags and wearable sensors.