Facile synthesis of high silver content MOD ink by using silver oxalate precursor for inkjet printing applications

•Facile synthesized high silver content MOD ink by using silver oxalate precursor.•Microstructure and resistivity of films at various post-heat treatments were studied.•Printed lines show low resistivity and good adhesion on PI substrate.

In this paper, a particle-free MOD ink (MOD = metal–organic-decomposition) of high silver content was directly used for inkjet printing silver conductive patterns on PI substrate. The ink was synthesized by using silver oxalate as precursor, ethylamine as a complexing ligand, ethyl alcohol and ethylene glycol as the solvent. The chemical and physical properties of the solution ink were investigated. The MOD ink has 27.6 wt.% of silver. The deposited films on PI substrate were thermally treated at a range of temperatures and times, and then analyzed in terms of their morphology and resistivity. The silver film cured at 170 °C for 30 min had a resistivity of 8.4 μΩ·cm. The printed patterns on PI substrate cured at 150 °C for 30 min showed metalized silver with low resistivity (8.6 μΩ·cm), high reflection, and good adhesion.