Nanoparticle Liquids for Reconfigurable Electronic Materials (Preprint)

摘要

High inorganic volume fraction, solventless nanoparticle liquids have many potential applications, including reconfigurable electronic materials. Materials such as conductive lubricants could find applications in MEMS devices to increase relay switch performance as one example. The ability of the conductive nanoparticles to reconfigure themselves and fill voids in damaged areas can increase the lifespan of devices where local defects can cause failure states. Solventless solid nanoparticles with liquid-like properties are an area of recent research interest. For example, Giannelis and colleagues have reported metal oxide and metal nanoparticle liquids which contain no free solvent but still can flow in a liquid-like fashion. These materials contain large organic ligands bound to the surface of the nanoparticle through a combination of covalent and electrostatic bonds. By optimizing the attractive and repulsive forces between the nanoparticles through the surface chemistry of these organic ligands, the properties of the resulting liquids can be tailored.