Novel method for room temperature sintering of Ag nanoparticle paste in air

We successfully developed a new method of sintering Ag nanoparticles protected by dispersant in an air atmosphere without heating. Ag nanoparticles on glass substrates were dipped in methanol for 10–7200 s to remove the dodecylamine dispersant. After 7200 s dipping, the removal of the dispersant became clear by surface analysis and Ag nanoparticles were densely sintered. The sintered Ag wire had excellent low resistivity of 7.3 × 10−7 Ωm. Microstructural observations revealed that the Ag nanoparticles had agglomerated and coarsened with increased dipping time. Clear connections were found among the grown particles.