Printed metal inks need to be heated to sinter the ink, which limits the types of substrates they can be printed on to those that are heat resistant. Researchers at the University of Technology, Sydney have developed new printable metal inks in which the sintering temperatures can be controlled. These inks could be made with silver, gold, and platinum nanoparticles and can be made to sinter at room temperature. This enables printed electronics on virtually any substrate such as paper, cloth or plastic. Alternatively, by elevating the sintering temperatures, the shelf life of these inks can be significantly extended.

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