Printable Elastic Conductors by in situ Formation of Silver Nanoparticles from Silver Flakes

Authors

Naoji Matsuhisa, Daishi Inoue, Peter Zalar, Hanbit Jin, Yorishige Matsuba, Akira Itoh, Tomoyuki Yokota, Daisuke Hashizume & Takao Someya

Abstract

Printable elastic conductors promise large-area stretchable sensor/actuator networks for healthcare, wearables and robotics. Elastomers with metal nanoparticles are one of the best approaches to achieve high performance, but large-area utilization is limited by difficulties in their processability. Here we report a printable elastic conductor containing Ag nanoparticles that are formed in situ, solely by mixing micrometre-sized Ag flakes, fluorine rubbers, and surfactant. Our printable elastic composites exhibit conductivity higher than 4,000 S cm⁻¹ (highest value: 6,168 S cm⁻¹) at 0% strain, and 935 S cm⁻¹ when stretched up to 400%. Ag nanoparticle formation is influenced by the surfactant, heating processes, and elastomer molecular weight, resulting in a drastic improvement of conductivity. Fully printed sensor networks for stretchable robots are demonstrated, sensing pressure and temperature accurately, even when stretched over 250%.

Nature Materials: https://www.nature.com/articles/nmat4904

EurekAlert : https://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2017-05/uot-stl051117.php

ScienceDaily : https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2017/05/170515111621.htm