Electroless
Copper Plating of Inkjet-Printed Polydopamine Nanoparticles: a Facile
Method to Fabricate Highly Conductive Patterns at Near Room Temperature
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Abstract
Aqueous dispersions of artificially
synthesized, mussel-inspired poly(dopamine) nanoparticles were inkjet
printed on flexible polyethylene terephthalate (PET) substrates. Narrow
line patterns (4 μm in width) of poly(dopamine) resulted due
to evaporatively driven transport (coffee ring effect). The printed
patterns were metallized via a site-selective Cu electroless plating
process at a controlled temperature (30 °C) for varied bath times.
The lowest electrical resistivity value of the plated Cu lines was
about 6 times greater than the bulk resistivity of Cu. This process
presents an industrially viable way to fabricate Cu conductive fine
patterns for flexible electronics at low temperature, low cost, and
without need of sophisticated equipment