A new molecular silver precursor for the preparation of thin conductive silver films

• The crystal structure of a new silver based molecular precursor was solved.
• The photoreduction of the precursor to elemental silver was studied.
• Resulting elemental thin silver films show excellent electrical properties.
• The silver precursor can be used as an ink in soft lithographic processes for the preparation of structured silver films.

The synthesis and characterization of a new molecular silver precursor is reported. The presented complex [Ag(DioxoNic)2]NO3 (DioxoNic=(2,2-Dimethyl-1,3-dioxolan-4-yl)methyl nicotinate) can be obtained by the reaction of silver(I) nitrate and (2,2-Dimethyl-1,3-dioxolan-4-yl)methyl nicotinate in ethanol. The product crystallizes in the monoclinic space group P21/c (No. 14). Concentrated ethanolic solutions allow the fabrication of thin films via dip coating. Using UV-irradiation and subsequent moderate temperature treatment compact films of elemental silver can be obtained. The resulting silver films show excellent electrical properties with sheet resistances down to 0.7 Ω/sq at a film thickness of 25 nm corresponding to a specific electrical resistance of 1.75×10−8 Ωm very close to the value of bulk silver. For the potential application in optoelectronic devices, the complex was tested as an ink in a soft printing process for the preparation of patterned silver films.