Method for forming flexible transparent conductive film

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-9506148-B2
Application number	US-201414451573-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Aug 5, 2014
Priority date	Oct 15, 2013
Publication date	Nov 29, 2016
Grant date	Nov 29, 2016

Abstract

A method for forming a flexible transparent conductive film includes steps of: (a) electrospinning a first solution, which contains a polymer, a solvent and a metal ion-containing precursor, to form an polymeric fiber onto a soluble substrate; (b) providing energy to reduce the metal ion-containing precursor of the polymeric fiber, so as to form metal seeds on the polymeric fiber; and (c) placing the polymeric fiber together with the soluble substrate into a second solution, such that the soluble substrate dissolves in the second solution to form an electroless-plating bath and such that the polymeric fiber is subjected to electroless plating to form a metal coating from the metal seeds.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. A method for forming a flexible transparent conductive film, comprising the following steps of:
(a) electrospinning a first solution, which contains a polymer, a solvent and a metal ion-containing precursor, to form an electrospun polymeric fiber onto a soluble substrate, the substrate being made of glucose;
(b) providing energy to reduce the metal ion-containing precursor of the electrospun polymeric fiber, so as to form metal seeds on the electrospun polymeric fiber; and
(c) placing the electrospun polymeric fiber together with the soluble substrate into a second solution, such that the soluble substrate dissolves in the second solution to form an electroless-plating bath and such that the electrospun polymeric fiber is subjected to electroless plating to form a metal coating from the metal seeds.

2. The method of claim 1 , wherein, in step (a), the polymeric fiber is electrospun into a web structure.

3. The method of claim 1 , wherein:
in step (c), the second solution and the electroless-plating bath are aqueous solutions.

4. The method of claim 1 , wherein the second solution contains silver nitrate, sodium hydroxide, and ammonium hydroxide.

5. The method of claim 4 , wherein, based on the total weight of the electroless-plating bath, silver nitrate is present in an amount not greater than 0.625 wt %, and glucose is present in an amount ranging from 7 wt % to 13 wt %.

6. The method of claim 5 , wherein, in step (c), electroless plating is conducted at a temperature of not greater than 40° C. for a time period ranging from 20 minutes to 40 minutes.

7. The method of claim 1 , wherein, in step (a), the polymer is selected from the group consisting of an acrylic-based polymer, a vinyl-based polymer, polyester, polyamide, and combinations thereof.

8. The method of claim 7 , wherein the acrylic-based polymer is one of polymethylmethacrylate (PMMA) and polyacrylonitrile (PAN), the vinyl-based polymer is one of polystyrene (PS) and polyvinyl acetate (PVAc), the polyester is one of polycarbonate and polyethylene terephthalate, and the polyamide is nylon.

9. The method of claim 1 , wherein the metal ion-containing precursor contains metal ions that are selected from the group consisting of gold ions, silver ions, copper ions, platinum ions and combinations thereof.

10. The method of claim 1 , wherein the metal ion-containing precursor is selected from the group consisting of a metal salt, a metal halide, and an organometallic complex.

11. The method of claim 10 , wherein the metal salt is selected from the group consisting of silver trifluoroacetate, silver acetate, silver nitrate, copper acetate, copper hydroxide, copper nitrate, copper sulfide, and sodium hexahydroxyplatinate.

12. The method of claim 10 , wherein the metal halide is selected from the group consisting of silver chloride, silver iodide, gold trichloride, chloroauric acid, and copper chloride.

13. The method of claim 10 , wherein the organometallic compound is copper phthalocyanine.

14. The method of claim 11 , wherein the polymer is polymethylmethacrylate, and the metal ion-containing precursor is silver trifluoroacetate.

15. The method of claim 14 , wherein, based on the total weight of the first solution, polymethylmethacrylate (PMMA) is present in an amount ranging from 10 wt % to 12 wt %, and a weight ratio of silver in silver trifluoroacetate to PMMA ranges from 1/32 to 1/8.

16. The method of claim 1 , wherein step (a) is conducted for a time period ranging from 30 seconds to 60 seconds under an electric field that is greater than 1 kV/cm and a flow rate of the first solution ranging from 5 μl/minute to 20 μl/minute.

17. The method of claim 1 , wherein step (b) is conducted by heat treating the electrospun polymeric fiber at a temperature of not greater than 100° C. for a time period of not less than 12 hours.

18. The method of claim 1 , wherein, in step (b), the metal seeds are substantially in a nanometer scale.

Assignees

• Univ Nat Cheng Kung

Inventors

• Chen In-Gann
• Kuo Chang-Shu
• Chen Hung-Tao
• Hsieh Pei-Ying

Classifications

• C23C18/31

  Coating with metals · CPC title

• C23C18/30

  Activating {or accelerating or sensitising with palladium or other noble metal} · CPC title

• D01D5/003 Primary

  the material being a polymer solution or dispersion (D01D5/0053 takes precedence) · CPC title

• D06M11/83

  with metals; with metal-generating compounds, e.g. metal carbonyls; Reduction of metal compounds on textiles · CPC title

• C23C18/1641

  Organic substrates, e.g. resin, plastic · CPC title