Department of Natural Sciences, Engineering and Mathematics, Mid Sweden University, Sundsvall, Sweden.
PLoS One. 2011 Feb 24;6(2):e17209. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0017209.
Metallic nanoparticle inks are used for printed electronics, but to reach acceptable conductivity the structures need to be sintered, usually using a furnace. Recently, sintering by direct resistive heating has been demonstrated. For a microscopic understanding of this Joule heating sintering method, we studied the entire process in real time inside a transmission electron microscope equipped with a movable electrical probe. We found an onset of Joule heating induced sintering and coalescence of nanoparticles at power levels of 0.1-10 mW/μm³. In addition, a carbonization of the organic shells that stabilize the nanoparticles were found, with a conductivity of 4 10⁵ Sm⁻¹.
金属纳米粒子油墨用于印刷电子，但为了达到可接受的导电性，这些结构需要进行烧结，通常使用炉子。最近，已经证明了通过直接电阻加热进行烧结。为了从微观上了解这种焦耳加热烧结方法，我们在配备可移动电探针的透射电子显微镜中实时研究了整个过程。我们发现，在 0.1-10 mW/μm³的功率水平下，焦耳加热诱导的烧结和纳米颗粒的聚结开始发生。此外，还发现了稳定纳米颗粒的有机外壳的碳化，其电导率为 4×10⁵ Sm⁻¹。
