Sustainable conductive inks for printable electronic applications

在原材料资源的使用和将其转化为有用产品的方法方面，出现了两个重要的趋势。由于可持续和再生资源有利的碳足迹，正在考虑在商品和服务生产中消耗原油。在电子工业中，趋势正在从硅基加工转向柔性电子，其中传统的物理气相沉积（PVD）沉积导电材料的方法正在被2d和3d打印技术所取代。前一种技术需要复杂的洁净室环境，维护和操作都很昂贵。另一方面，可印刷电子产品是在室温和标准环境下使用溶液可加工材料进行的，而不需要无尘室设施。替代工艺的出现，如柔性印刷电子产品提供了许多优势，它将对这一市场部门造成破坏。这是一个快速增长的技术领域，预计到2016年将占据约450亿美元的市场。在这个战略项目中，我们建议开发一种可扩展的绿色工艺，从植物和各种生物质中提取纤维素纳米晶体（CNC）来生产可持续导电油墨（SCI）。通过与我们的工业合作伙伴赛璐珞公司和MW加拿大公司的合作，我们将开发用于柔性电子应用的SCI生产技术。该计划将包括两个主要的重点领域，将导致：(1)发展一个可扩展和“绿色”的过程，以制造SCI用于各种可印刷的电子应用；(2)水性SCI的配方和印刷平台的优化，以便将SCI输送到各种类型的柔性基材上，包括纺织品、纸张和生物可降解塑料。关键目标是制定一个整体的方法来开发一种可持续的纳米材料，这种材料可以用于下一代可印刷电子产品，并且废物处理问题明显减少。这项研究将使苦苦挣扎的林业部门恢复活力，并创造经济和商业活动，使加拿大成为可持续材料的领导者。

Two important trends are emerging in the use of raw material resources and methods of transforming them into useful products. Sustainable and renewal resources are being considered over depleting crude oil in the production of goods and services due to the favourable carbon foot print of such resources. In the electronic industry, the trend is shifting from silicon based processing to flexible electronics, where the traditional method of depositing conductive materials performed with physical vapor deposition (PVD) is being replaced by 2-D and 3-D printing technology. The former technique requires sophisticated clean room environments that are expensive to maintain and operate. On the other hand, printable electronics are performed using solution processable materials at ambient temperature and in a standard environment without the need of clean room facilities. The emergence of alternative processes, such as flexible printable electronics offer many advantages and it will be disruptive to this market sector. This is a rapidly growing technology sector estimated to command a market of approximately $45B by 2016. In this strategic project, we propose to develop a scalable green process to produce sustainable conductive inks (SCI) from cellulose nanocrystal (CNC) derived from plants and various biomasses. In collaboration with our industrial partners, Celluforce and MW Canada, we will develop technologies for the production of SCI for flexible electronic applications. The project will contain TWO major thrust areas that will lead to: (1) the development of a scalable and "green" process for the manufacture of SCI for various printable electronic applications; (2) the formulation of aqueous SCI and the optimization of the printing platform for the delivery of SCI onto various types of flexible substrates, including textiles, paper, and biodegradable plastics. The key goal is to formulate a holistic approach in the development of a sustainable nanomaterial that can be used in the next generation of printable electronics with a significantly lower waste disposal issue. This research will rejuvenate the struggling forestry sector, and create economic and business activities that will position Canada as a leader in sustainable materials.