The Polymer Society of Korea

Abstract

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.