title: Highly conductive ribbons prepared by stick-slip assembly of organosoluble gold nanoparticles.
abstract: Precisely positioning and assembling nanoparticles (NPs) into hierarchical nanostructures is opening opportunities in a wide variety of applications. Many techniques employed to produce hierarchical micrometer and nanoscale structures are limited by complex fabrication of templates and difficulties with scalability. Here we describe the fabrication and characterization of conductive nanoparticle ribbons prepared from surfactant-free organosoluble gold nanoparticles (Au NPs). We used a flow-coating technique in a controlled, stick-slip assembly to regulate the deposition of Au NPs into densely packed, multilayered structures. This affords centimeter-scale long, high-resolution Au NP ribbons with precise periodic spacing in a rapid manner, up to 2 orders-of-magnitude finer and faster than previously reported methods. These Au NP ribbons exhibit linear ohmic response, with conductivity that varies by changing the binding headgroup of the ligands. Controlling NP percolation during sintering (e.g., by adding polymer to retard rapid NP coalescence) enables the formation of highly conductive ribbons, similar to thermally sintered conductive adhesives. Hierarchical, conductive Au NP ribbons represent a promising platform to enable opportunities in sensing, optoelectronics, and electromechanical devices.
authors.affiliation: Department of Polymer Science and Engineering, University of Massachusetts , Amherst, Massachusetts 01003, United States.
authors.forename: Jimmy
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Lawrence
authors.forename: Jonathan T
authors.initials: JT
authors.lastname: Pham
authors.forename: Dong Yun
authors.initials: DY
authors.lastname: Lee
authors.forename: Yujie
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Liu
authors.forename: Alfred J
authors.initials: AJ
authors.lastname: Crosby
authors.forename: Todd
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Emrick