Mechanically Robust, Inkjet-Printable Polymer Nanocomposites with Hybrid Gold Nanoparticles and Metal-like Conductivity

Hybrid core–shell nanoparticles with metal cores and conductive polymer shells yield materials that are sinter-free and highly conductive but mechanically weak. Conventional composites of such nanoparticles are electrically insulating. Here, we introduce microscale phase-separated nanocomposites of hybrid gold-PEDOT:PPS particles in insulating poly(vinyl alcohol) (PVA). They combine electrical conductivities of up to 2.1 × 10 5 S/m at 10 vol % PVA with increased mechanical adhesion on polyethylene terephthalate and glass substrates. We studied the effects of the PVA molecular weight, hydrolyzation degree, and volume fraction. Composites with 10 vol % highly hydrolyzed PVA at a M W of 89–98 kDa had the highest conductivities and stabilities; highly hydrolyzed PVA even increased the conductivity of the hybrid particle layers. We propose the formation of hydrogen bonds between PVA and PEDOT:PSS that lead to demixing and the formation of stable, structured composites. Finally, we demonstrated the inkjet-printability of inks containing PVA in water with viscosities of 1.6–2.0 Pa s at 50.1 s –1 and prepared bending-resistant electrical leads.