Fabricating flexible electronics using electrically conductive ink has been investigated using electrically conductive inks that include metals, conductive polymers, and carbon materials. Metal-based ink often requires high sintering temperatures, conductive polymers suffer from long-term stability, and carbon materials normally require forming a stable suspension with additives that can degrade the performance of the ink. Here we present a one-step preparation of graphene ink with no post-high-temperature heating, stabilizers, or stability concerns. Our interfacial trapping method takes advantage of the fact that graphite does not form a stable suspension in either water or organic solvent. Instead, graphite resides at the interface in an oil/water mixture where it spontaneously exfoliates into graphene to lower the total energy of the system and is trapped in the interface. When the system is stirred or shaken, a water-in-oil emulsion with graphene stabilizing the interface is formed. When the oil phase is a long chain alkane, the viscosity of the emulsion is suitable for screen printing. The effect of using different alkane as the oil phase, and different graphite loading on the viscosity of the ink, electrical conductivity, resolution, and flexibility of the ink line are presented.<br/>

Deposition of graphene stabilized droplets for conductive surfaces

2019 Spring National Meeting

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