Synthesis and characterization of highly conductive Sn–Ag bimetallic nanoparticles for printed electronics

To synthesize low-cost, highly conductive metal nanoparticles for inkjet printing materials, we synthesized Sn–Ag bimetallic nanoparticles using a polyol process with poly(vinyl pyrrolidone). Because a surface oxidation layer forms on Sn nanoparticles, various compositions of Sn–xAg [x = 0, 20, 40, 60, 80, 100 (wt%)] nanoparticles were synthesized and characterized for the purpose of removing the β-Sn phase. The results of XPS, TEM, and XRD analyses confirm that the formation of a bimetallic phase, such as Ag4Sn or Ag3Sn, hinders the β-Sn phase and, consequently, leads to the removal of the surface oxidation layer. To measure the sheet resistance of various compositions of Sn–Ag nanoparticles, we made the ink that contains Sn–Ag by dispersing 10 wt% of Sn–Ag nanoparticles in methanol. The sheet resistance is decreased by the conductive Sn–Ag phases, such as the fcc, Ag4Sn, and Ag3Sn phases, but sharply increased by the low-conductive Sn nanoparticles and the surface oxidation layer on the Sn nanoparticles. The sheet resistance results confirm that 80Ag20Sn and 60Ag40Sn bimetallic nanoparticles are suitable candidates for inkjet printing materials.