We are developing novel silver conductive inks that do not contain any polymeric binders in the formulation unlike commercially available silver conductive inks. Polymeric binders in inks serve as a transport agent and also hold the silver flakes together. Our formulation contains a silver organometallic salt which decomposes at temperatures of 120 ^oC to give reactive silver which chemically welds the silver flakes together. We also employ a unique solvent system which acts as transport system for the inks and keeps the flakes uniformly dispersed in the solution. The basic aims of our study is:

(1) To make high conductive inks that can reach conductivity of at least one magnitude less than that of silver ( 6.3 × 10⁷ ) at low sintering temperatures of below 120 ^oC.

(2) To ensure that the ink maintains a stable viscosity during printing process in roll to roll coating/printing process.

The inks can be printed on flexible substrates such as polyester films to form pin-hole free conductive patterns. Applications of our inks can range from interconnects for solar cells, LEDs and flexible RFID antennas