Constructing Artificial Glass Nanobarrier Layer on Copper Spheres with Robust Antioxidation Properties for Printable Electrode

Copper-containing electronic pastes with the merits of low cost and high conductivity have been actively investigated for preparing conductive electrodes for printable electronics. However, oxidation of copper electrodes in the ambient atmosphere deteriorates devices and restricts their practical applications. Here, we designed an artificial glass nanobarrier layer on copper spheres to improve the antioxidation properties by blocking further oxidation. Specifically, a non-aqueous sol–gel method was applied to synthesize zinc borosilicate glass nanolayer-coated copper spheres with various diameters from 200 nm to 10 μm with zinc borosilicate glass nanolayer (Cu@ZBS). The Cu@ZBS-based copper pastes were screen printed on the silicon wafer and low-temperature co-fired ceramic (LTCC), demonstrating low-sheet resistance (11 mΩ/□), strong adhesion, and long-term stability. Our study blazes the trail of applicating reliable Cu@glass core–shell materials to fabricating conductive electrodes in printable electronic devices.