Inkjet printing of 200 nm monodisperse carbon nanoparticles: From nanoparticles synthesis to smart ink formulation

Carbon nanoparticles can be obtained by the pyrolysis of thermoset resorcinol (R) and formaldehyde (F) copolymers nanopheres. In comparison with carbon black nanoparticules commonly proposed by chemical products suppliers, their shape is more regular and well defined. In addition R/F carbon nanoparticle can be synthetized with a very narrow granular spreading. Three different synthesis pathways have been tested in the aim to obtain 200 nm diameter monodisperse particles. The polymerization in an emulsion stabilized using electrostatic repulsion, derived from Stober method, gave the best results. R/F carbon nanoparticles were used to make an inkjet printable dispersion in order to form resistive carbon thin films on Kapton substrate.