Rolla, MO-based Brewer Science introduced a line of conductive CNT ink materials that are surfactant free, require no additional rinse steps, and are compatible with a broad range of printed electronic substrates. Cure temperatures for desired conductivity results are between 115°C and 130°C. Inks with high concentrations of CNTs in low-viscosity solutions are available in aqueous and solvent-based systems, giving them broad compatibility and enabling the design of inks for a broad set of application technologies such as sensors, displays, and packaging integration. Formulations are available for Optomec’s Aerosol Jet^® technology systems, Fujifilm Dimatix’s materials printer DMP-2800, spray coating, and drawdown bar coating. 

These CNT inks have achieved sheet resistance of 300 ohm/sq for 85%T (optical transmission) at 550 nm for transparent conductive applications.  For conductive trace applications, sheet resistance of 1 ohm/sq and conductivity of 75,000 siemens/meter have been achieved.  Films produced with these inks on polyethylene terephthalate (PET) have demonstrated both high adhesion and mechanical flexibility. Both adhesion and conductivity remain stable after repeated folding of the CNT-coated PET.

“This robust performance will enable flexible printed electronic device applications,” “These solutions contain no surfactants and require no additional post-process rinsing, which will speed commercial adoption by eliminating the cost of the extra rinse process steps and preventing generation of a CNT-contaminated waste stream,” said Jim Lamb, Director of Brewer Science’s Printed Electronics Technology Center. “Although we designed these materials for plastic printed electronics applications, they are also compatible with a wide range of substrates such as paper, glass, silicon, and metal.”

Materials are developed by Brewer Science’s Printed Electronics Technology Center as part of its CNT materials, applications, and device prototyping services at the Jordan Valley Innovation Center in Springfield, Missouri. “Brewer Science is focused on bringing the unique properties of CNTs for commercial electronics applications to customers in the next three to five years,” added Lamb.