Nanostructure Enhancement of Metallic Films with a Click

Colloidal metal nanoparticles dispersions are commonly used to create functional printed electronic devices and they typically require time-, energy-, and equipment-consuming post-treatments to improve their electrical and mechanical properties. Traditional methods, e.g. thermal, UV/IR, plasma, and microwave treatments, limit the substrate options and may require expensive equipment, not available in all the laboratories. Moreover, these processes also cause the collapse of the film (nano)pores and interstices, limiting or impeding its nanostructuration. It is of great interest in various field finding novel and simple approaches to obtain complex nanostructured materials with minimal post-treatments, which remains a challenge under many aspects.In this study, we developed a new sintering method for gold nanoparticle inks, called “click sintering”. The method makes use of a catalytic reaction to enhance and tune the nanostructuration of the film while simultaneously sintering the metallic nanoparticles in a synergic way, in an ultrafast and straightforward way, without requiring any cumbersome post-treatment or time consuming procedures.Our click sintering method results in a conductive and electroactive nanoporous thin film, whose properties can be tuned by the conditions of the reaction, i.e., concentration of the reagent and time. The films have been characterized electrically and electrochemically, showing an enhanced surface area and electroactivity, as well as a good conductivity of the porous film.This new approach paves the way to new straightforward protocols for creating nanoporous structures, on virtually any substrate, using a novel and innovative one-step approach to simultaneously sinter gold nanoparticles films and create functional nanostructures, directly and easily, introducing a new concept of real-time treatment with possible applications in the fields of flexible electronics, biosensing, energy, and catalysis.