INVESTIGATION OF THERMAL CURING EFFECTS ON HYBRID GNP/SILVER CONDUCTIVE INK PERFORMANCE AND PROPERTIES

Abstract

Thermal curing plays an important role in determining the final properties of conductive inks. This research presents an investigation of thermal curing effects on hybrid Graphene Nanoplatelets (GNP)/Silver conductive ink performance and properties. The GNP and silver were used to form a hybrid conductive ink with a different ratio of organic solvents of 1-butanol and terpineol. The GNP/Silver conductive ink was printed on the copper substrate and cured for five hours in the oven at 260 °C. The electrical performance of the hybrid conductive ink was observed in terms of average bulk resistance and average resistivity before and after the cyclic bending test. Results show the ratio of 60:40 of 1-butanol to terpineol gives the lowest initial average bulk resistance 0.8 Ω, and resistivity 4.8 x 10-5Ω.m when cured at 260 °C, but after 16000 cycles of bending, the ink gives the highest average bulk resistance 1.18 Ω and resistivity 7.08 x 10-4 Ω.m. In conclusion, the GNP/Ag conductive inks' solvent ratio influenced in electrical performance of GNP/Silver conductive ink when cured at 260 °C. This study demonstrates that the solvent ratio of 1-butanol to terpineol significantly influences both the initial electrical conductivity and mechanical durability of thermally cured GNP/Silver conductive inks, revealing a performance trade-off critical for flexible electronic applications. For further investigation, the cyclic bending test should be conducted for a higher number of cycles.