Synthesis of polypyrrole nanoparticles and their applications in electrically conductive adhesives for improving conductivityElectronic supplementary information (ESI) available: XRD of silver flakes and SEM images of PPy nanoparticles. See DOI: 10.1039/c7ra09725e

Herein, we report an innovative application of doping conjugated-polypyrrole nanoparticles (PPy NPs) into electrically conductive adhesives (ECAs) to prepare low-electrical resistivity interconnecting materials. PPy NPs were synthesized via a facile one-step chemical oxidative polymerization method at room temperature with the average diameter as small as 86.8 nm. Particles' diameters and dispersity were manipulated under different polymerization conditions through the adjustment of weight percentages and molecular weights of polyvinylpyrrolidone (PVP) as the surfactants. Results showed that higher concentrations of PVP and the longer chains of PVPs resulted in smaller diameters of PPy NPs. We also found that a suitable portion of ethanol in the polymerization mixtures gives rise to a better dispersity than that observed in mixtures without ethanol. When a small amount of PPy NPs was added into traditional epoxy resin-based and silver-flakes-filled ECAs, the resistance measurements showed an enhancement in the electrical conductivity, or in other words, a reduction in resistivity significantly. For example, the electrical resistivity of 70 wt% silver-filled ECAs was reduced from 1.6 × 10 −3 Ω cm to 9.4 × 10 −5 Ω cm by using only 2.5 wt% PPy NPs as the dopants. Thus, our results confirmed new applications of PPy NPs in the field of ECAs for decreasing the resistance, reducing the dosage of silver in ECAs, and achieving flexible devices. Finally, flexible electrical patterns were printed on paper and polyimide substrates were used as conducting circuits to light LED devices. An innovative application of doping conjugated-polypyrrole nanoparticles (PPy NPs) into electrical conductive adhesives (ECAs) to prepare low electrical resistivity interconnecting materials.