Thermal analysis of silver nanoparticles for flexible printed antenna fabrication

In this study, the temperature assisted decomposition/desorption behavior of short-chain single and mixed carboxylic acid encapsulants from the core of silver nanoparticles was investigated using thermogravimetric analysis and differential scanning calorimetry, and these particles were used to fabricate a flexible printed antenna. The decomposition temperatures of the single encapsulant particles increased with increasing chain length of encapsulants, whereas the decomposition temperatures for mixed encapsulant particles are close to the average of the corresponding decomposition temperatures of single encapsulant nanoparticles. These experimentally identified decomposition temperatures were utilized for sintering the printed antenna on a flexible substrate. The printed antenna showed a significantly low return loss of 22 dB. The antenna performance and radiation pattern are similar to a reference prototype antenna made of copper.