CONDUCTIVE ARTICLE HAVING MICRO-CHANNELS
A conductive article includes a substrate having a micro-channel. A metal nanoparticle composition is formed in the micro-channel. The metal nanoparticle composition includes silver nanoparticles and a polymer having both carboxylic acid and sulfonic acid groups.
1 . A conductive article, comprising:
a substrate having a micro-channel; and
a metal nanoparticle composition formed in the micro-channel, wherein the metal nanoparticle composition includes silver nanoparticles and a polymer having both carboxylic acid and sulfonic acid groups.
2 . The conductive article of claim 1 wherein the sulfonic acid group is formed from styrenesulfonic acid, 3-sulfopropyl acrylate, 3-sulfopropyl methacrylate, 2-sulfoethyl methacrylate, 3-sulfobutyl methacrylate or 2-acrylamido-2-methylpropane sulfonic acid.
3 . The conductive article of claim 1 wherein the carboxylic acid group is formed from acrylic acid, methacrylic acid, ethacrylic acid, itaconic acid, maleic acid, fumaric acid, monoalkyl itaconate, monoalkyl maleate, citraconic acid, styrenecarboxylic acid, 2-carboxyethyl acrylate or 2-carboxyethyl acrylate oligomers.
4 . The conductive article of claim 1 wherein the polymer includes poly(4-styrene sulfonic acid-co-maleic acid).
5 . The conductive article of claim 1 wherein the polymer includes poly(4-styrene sulfonic acid-co-acrylic acid).
6 . The conductive article of claim 1 wherein the molar ratio of sulfonic acid groups to carboxylic acid groups is in a range of 0.05 to 5.
7 . The conductive article of claim 6 wherein the molar ratio of sulfonic acid groups to carboxylic acid groups is in a range of 0.5 to 2.
8 . The conductive article of claim 1 wherein the weight ratio of the polymer to silver is from 0.0005 to 0.04.
9 . The conductive article of claim 1 wherein the mean size of the silver nanoparticles is in a range from 5 nm to 500 nm.
10 . The conductive article of claim 9 wherein the silver nanoparticle size has a bimodal distribution.
11 . The conductive article of claim 1 wherein the metal nanoparticle composition further includes a colorant.
12 . The conductive article of claim 1 wherein the average molecular weight of the polymer is in a range from 500 to 500,000.
13 . The conductive article of claim 1 wherein the average molecular weight of the polymer is in a range from 500 to 50,000.
14 . The conductive article of claim 1 wherein the substrate includes a halogen-containing polymer in contact with the silver nanoparticles.
15 . The conductive article of claim 14 wherein the substrate includes a layer having the halogen-containing polymer, and the halogen-containing polymer includes polyvinyl chloride or polyvinylidene chloride or a combination thereof.
16 . The conductive article of claim 1 wherein the substrate includes a layer having a halide that is in contact with the silver nanoparticles.
17 . The conductive article of claim 1 wherein the silver nanoparticles form a conductive micro-wire having a bulk resistivity of less than 5 times that of pure silver.
18 . The conductive article of claim 17 wherein the silver nanoparticles form a conductive micro-wire having a bulk resistivity of less than 4 times that of pure silver.
19 . The conductive article of claim 17 wherein the silver nanoparticles form a conductive micro-wire having a bulk resistivity of less than 3 times that of pure silver.