title: Mechanically Milled Irregular Zinc Nanoparticles for Printable Bioresorbable Electronics.
abstract: Bioresorbable electronics is predominantly realized by complex and time-consuming anhydrous fabrication processes. New technology explores printable methods using inks containing micro- or nano-bioresorbable particles (e.g., Zn and Mg). However, these particles have seldom been obtained in the context of bioresorbable electronics using cheap, reliable, and effective approaches with limited study on properties essential to printable electronics. Here, irregular nanocrystalline Zn with controllable sizes and optimized electrical performance is obtained through ball milling approach using polyvinylpyrrolidone (PVP) as a process control agent to stabilize Zn particles and prevent cold welding. Time and PVP dependence of the ball milled particles are studied with systematic characterizations of morphology and composition of the nanoparticles. The results reveal crystallized Zn nanoparticles with a size of ≈34.834 ± 1.76 nm and low surface oxidation. The resulting Zn nanoparticles can be readily printed onto bioresorbable substrates and sintered at room temperature using a photonic sintering approach, leading to a high conductivity of 44 643 S m-1for printable zinc nanoparticles. The techniques to obtain Zn nanoparticles through ball milling and processing them through photonic sintering may potentially lead to a mass fabrication method for bioresorbable electronics and promote its applications in healthcare, environmental protection, and consumer electronics.
authors.affiliation: Department of Mechanical Engineering, Missouri University of Science and Technology, 400 West 13th Street, Rolla, MO, 65401, USA.
authors.forename: Bikram K
authors.initials: BK
authors.lastname: Mahajan
authors.affiliation: Department of Mechanical Engineering, Missouri University of Science and Technology, 400 West 13th Street, Rolla, MO, 65401, USA.
authors.forename: Xiaowei
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Yu
authors.affiliation: Department of Mechanical Engineering, Missouri University of Science and Technology, 400 West 13th Street, Rolla, MO, 65401, USA.
authors.forename: Wan
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Shou
authors.affiliation: Department of Mechanical Engineering, Missouri University of Science and Technology, 400 West 13th Street, Rolla, MO, 65401, USA.
authors.forename: Heng
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Pan
authors.affiliation: Department of Biomedical Engineering, Tianjin University, 92 Weijin Road, Tianjin, 300072, China.
authors.forename: Xian
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Huang
mesh_terms: D020341:Absorbable Implants; D004581:Electronics / Q000379:methods*; D053768:Metal Nanoparticles / Q000737:chemistry*; D011205:Povidone / Q000737:chemistry; D013696:Temperature; D015032:Zinc / Q000737:chemistry*
chemical_list: D011205:Povidone; D015032:Zinc
keywords: ball milling; bioresorbable electronics; photonic sintering; printable electronics; zinc nanoparticles