Application of silver nanoparticles in electrically conductive adhesives with silver micro flakes

This study has been conducted to evaluate the application of silver nanoparticles (NPs) in Electrically Conductive Adhesives (ECAs), filled with hybrid silver flakes and NPs, and silver flakes as a control sample, at a filler loading of 78 wt.%, 83 wt.% and 88 wt.% and cured at 150 ℃ and 180 ℃, respectively. The results show that the electrical and thermal conductivities of ECAs were improved with the increasing of filler loading and curing temperature. Adding silver NPs in silver flakes negatively affected the electrical and thermal conductivities of ECAs at a low filler mass fraction of 78 wt.%, because the segregation of NPs enlarged the average distance of silver flakes; while it positively influenced the electrical and thermal conductivities of ECAs at a loading ratio of 88 wt.%, probably due to NPs filling in the gaps between silver flakes or even sintering together with each other or with silver flakes, especially when curing at high temperature of 180 ℃.