Eco-Friendly, Recyclable Water-Based Silver Conductive Paste Enabled by Bio-Inspired Polyphenol Chemistry for Sustainable Printed Electronics
발표자
임동균 (한국과학기술연구원)
연구책임자
임정아 (한국과학기술연구원)
김희숙 (한국과학기술연구원)
공동저자
임동균 (한국과학기술연구원), 임정아 (한국과학기술연구원), 김희숙 (한국과학기술연구원)
초록
내용
The increasing importance of sustainable electronic materials, together with rising silver costs, is driving demand for recyclable conductive pastes in printed electronics. Conventional silver pastes for printed RF components offer high conductivity and strong adhesion, yet they are difficult to remove or recycle after curing, resulting in material waste. Here, we introduce an eco-friendly, water-based silver paste enabled by bio-inspired polyphenol–polymer interactions. Surface modification of Ag flakes with tannic acid improves dispersion in water and compatibility with polymer binders, providing suitable rheology for printing. The printed films exhibit electrical conductivity above 3.5 × 10⁴ S cm⁻¹ and good adhesion on glass and flexible substrates. Furthermore, the recovered silver enables repeatable electrical and adhesion performance over multiple recycling cycles, suggesting a practical pathway toward circular pastes for printed electronics.