Novel method for room temperature sintering of Ag nanoparticle paste in air

AWe successfully developed a new method of sintering Ag nanoparticles protected by dispersant in an air atmosphere without heating. Ag nanoparticles on glass substrates were dipped in methanol for 10-7200 s to remove the dodecylamine dispersant. After 7200 s dipping, the removal of the dispersant became clear by surface analysis and Ag nanoparticles were densely sintered. The sintered Ag wire had excellent low resistivity of 7.3 x 10(-7) Omega m. Microstructural observations revealed that the Ag nanoparticles had agglomerated and coarsened with increased dipping time. Clear connections were found among the grown particles. (c) 2007 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.