Ethyl orange-assisted synthesis of high-performance polyaniline nanorods for electrically conductive adhesives
摘要
Electrically conductive adhesives (ECAs) have gained widespread attention as an alternative to traditional tin/lead solder in electronic devices due to their lower processing temperatures and improved environmental safety. However, the use of ECAs in microelectronics still faces challenges, primarily due to the high cost and reduced adhesion associated with the large amounts of metallic fillers required to enhance conductivity. In this study, we developed a high-performance ECA by incorporating polyaniline-ethyl orange (PANI-EO) nanorods and micro-sized silver flakes. The PANI-EO nanorods, synthesized via chemical oxidative polymerization, have an average length of approximately 100 nm and a conductivity of 13.5 S/cm, with excellent dispersibility in water and various organic solvents. Benefiting from their superior dispersibility, PANI-EO nanorods are able to uniformly distribute within the adhesive matrix, and their outstanding conductivity helps form an efficient conductive network, significantly improving the overall conductivity of the adhesive. When 7 wt% PANI-EO is combined with 60 wt% micro-sized silver flakes, the resulting conductive adhesive achieves an impressive resistivity of 1.51 × 10⁻5 Ω·cm, which is significantly lower than that of the adhesive with only silver flakes (2.6 × 10⁻3 Ω·cm). As the PANI-EO content increases, the resistivity decreases and stabilizes at 7 wt%, indicating the formation of an efficient conductive network. Furthermore, the adhesive shows excellent long-term stability, with less than 5% resistance change after 21 days of aging at 85 ℃ and 85% relative humidity. The adhesive also successfully powered LEDs in flexible circuits, demonstrating its potential for use in flexible electronic devices. These findings highlight the excellent conductivity, stability, and cost-effectiveness of PANI-EO-based ECAs, making them a promising candidate for next-generation flexible conductors in high-performance electronic applications.