TY - JOUR
T1 - Enhanced Conductivity, Adhesion, and Environmental Stability of Printed Graphene Inks with Nitrocellulose
AU - Secor, Ethan B.
AU - Gao, Theodore Z.
AU - Islam, Ahmad E.
AU - Rao, Rahul
AU - Wallace, Shay G.
AU - Zhu, Jian
AU - Putz, Karl W.
AU - Maruyama, Benji
AU - Hersam, Mark C.
N1 - Funding Information:
The graphene ink preparation was supported by the Air Force Research Laboratory under agreement number FA8650-15-2-5518, and the inkjet printing and spray coating were supported by the Office of Naval Research under grant number N00014-11-1-0690. E.B.S. was further supported by the Department of Defense (DoD) through the National Defense Science and Engineering Graduate (NDSEG) Fellowship Program, and the Ryan Fellowship administered by the Northwestern University International Institute for Nanotechnology. Characterization made use of the NUANCE facility and the Optical Microscopy and Metallography facility at Northwestern University, which receive support from the NSF-MRSEC (DMR-1121262), Keck Foundation, and the State of Illinois. The authors thank Professor Tobin J. Marks for helpful discussions and access to inkjet printing facilities, as well as Polyera Corporation (Skokie, IL) for assistance with environmental testing. B.M. and R.R. acknowledge support from AFOSR. The U.S. Government is authorized to reproduce and distribute reprints for Governmental purposes notwithstanding any copyright notation thereon. The views and conclusions contained herein are those of the authors and should not be interpreted as necessarily representing the official policies or endorsements, either expressed or implied, of the sponsors.
PY - 2017/3/14
Y1 - 2017/3/14
N2 - Recent developments in liquid-phase processing of carbon nanomaterials have established graphene as a promising candidate for printed electronics. Of great importance in the ink formulation is the stabilizer, which has to provide excellent dispersion stability and tunability in the liquid state, and also decompose into chemical moieties that promote high electrical conductivity and robust mechanical and environmental stability. Here we demonstrate the promise of nitrocellulose as a synergistic polymer stabilizer for graphene inks. Graphene processed with nitrocellulose is formulated into inks with viscosities ranging over 4 orders of magnitude for compatibility with a wide range of deposition methods. Following thermal treatment, the graphene/nitrocellulose films offer high electrical conductivity of ∼40 000 S/m, along with mechanical flexibility. Moreover, in contrast to state-of-the-art graphene inks based on ethyl cellulose, the nitrocellulose residue offers superior mechanical and environmental stability as assessed by a suite of stress tests, including the Scotch tape test, a water sonication test, and an 85/85 damp heat test. By exploring the fundamental chemistry underlying these macroscopic benefits, we provide insight into binder selection for functional nanomaterial inks while producing a high-performance graphene ink with strong potential for printed and flexible electronics.
AB - Recent developments in liquid-phase processing of carbon nanomaterials have established graphene as a promising candidate for printed electronics. Of great importance in the ink formulation is the stabilizer, which has to provide excellent dispersion stability and tunability in the liquid state, and also decompose into chemical moieties that promote high electrical conductivity and robust mechanical and environmental stability. Here we demonstrate the promise of nitrocellulose as a synergistic polymer stabilizer for graphene inks. Graphene processed with nitrocellulose is formulated into inks with viscosities ranging over 4 orders of magnitude for compatibility with a wide range of deposition methods. Following thermal treatment, the graphene/nitrocellulose films offer high electrical conductivity of ∼40 000 S/m, along with mechanical flexibility. Moreover, in contrast to state-of-the-art graphene inks based on ethyl cellulose, the nitrocellulose residue offers superior mechanical and environmental stability as assessed by a suite of stress tests, including the Scotch tape test, a water sonication test, and an 85/85 damp heat test. By exploring the fundamental chemistry underlying these macroscopic benefits, we provide insight into binder selection for functional nanomaterial inks while producing a high-performance graphene ink with strong potential for printed and flexible electronics.
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U2 - 10.1021/acs.chemmater.7b00029
DO - 10.1021/acs.chemmater.7b00029
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:85015694453
VL - 29
SP - 2332
EP - 2340
JO - Chemistry of Materials
JF - Chemistry of Materials
SN - 0897-4756
IS - 5
ER -