University of Waterloo
200 University Ave W, Waterloo, ON
N2L 3G1
Phone: (519) 888-4567
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Galina Voloshin
Cellulose Nanocrystal Aqueous Inks Evaluated for Printed Electronics and Application to Thin-film Transistors
William Wong
With increasing demand for smart features on consumer items, it is imperative that a new class of environmentally sustainable processing methods and materials are developed in order to enable smart functionality on mass produced goods. We have demonstrated significant first steps towards this goal through development of conductive, aqueous-based inks of nanocrystalline cellulose (CNC) for low-waste additive processing via inkjet printing. Aqueous CNC solutions were tuned for printability through addition of ethanol and ethylene glycol before successful patterning unto amorphous silicon (a-Si:H) thin-film transistors (TFTs) as proof-of-concept source and drain contacts. Bio-mass-sourced CNC nanoparticles functionalized with conductive polypyrrole polymer (CNC-PVP-PPY) were found to withstand temperatures of 150°C and displayed conductivity as high as 77.8 S-m-1. Two key observations were made: TFTs fabricated with printed CNC-PVP-PPY contacts successfully showed switching behaviour with typical mobilities on the order of 0.2 cm2V-1s-1, on-off ratio of 106, threshold voltage of 7.6V, and subthreshold swing of 264 mV/dec, however, the larger contact resistance for CNC-PVP-PPY had an impact on the extracted parameters when compared to sputtered metal and printed annealed-silver nanoparticle contact devices. This is the first reported instance of conductive CNC nanoparticles successfully print-processed from aqueous inks and integrated into TFTs.
University of Waterloo
200 University Ave W, Waterloo, ON
N2L 3G1
Phone: (519) 888-4567
Staff and Faculty Directory
Contact the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering
The University of Waterloo acknowledges that much of our work takes place on the traditional territory of the Neutral, Anishinaabeg and Haudenosaunee peoples. Our main campus is situated on the Haldimand Tract, the land granted to the Six Nations that includes six miles on each side of the Grand River. Our active work toward reconciliation takes place across our campuses through research, learning, teaching, and community building, and is centralized within our Indigenous Initiatives Office.