This paper reports a customized silver ink and its inkjet printing process on a cellulose electroactive paper (EAPap). To synthesize a silver ink, silver nanoparticle is synthesized from silver nitrate, polyvinylpyrrolidone and ethylene glycol, followed by adding a viscosifier, hydroxyethylcellulose solution, and a surfactant, diethylene glycol. The silver ink is used in an inkjet printer (Fujifilm Dimatix DMP-2800 series) to print silver electrodes on cellulose EAPap. After printing, the electrodes are heat treated at 200℃. The sintered electrodes show that the thickness of the electrodes linearly increases as the number of printing layers increases. The electrical resistivity of the printed electrodes is 23.5 μΩ-cm. This customized ink can be used in inkjet printer to print complex electrode patterns on cellulose EAPap to fabricate flexible smart actuators, flexible electronics and sensors.
