Fabrication of flexible nanostructured silver-polymer films for sensors and bio-warfare or bacterial treatment and conducting gold-silver-polymer film for flexible electronics

Abstract

Flexible nanostructured and conducting metal-polymer films have been found promising applications in pharmaceuticals and flexible electronics. These could be used as anti-bacterial agent, bio-warfare treatment, or as sensors for environmental monitoring and protection. However, mechanical strength and metal-polymer adhesion are crucial issues for practical applications of such films. Another issue associated with synthesis of such polymers is the necessity of a simple, convenient and cost-effective method. This work focused on the above issues and reports the synthesis of nanostructured Ag-polymer films (brown, blue and golden colored) and conductive Au-Ag-polymer film with a good combination of flexibility, mechanical strength and metal-polymer adhesion. The films were synthesized by simple and cost-effective routes. Ag-polymer films were prepared by one-step method through studying the effect of metal concentration and curing process. Conductive film was obtained by gold plating on the selected Ag-polymer film. SEM and EDS clearly indicated the existence of metal particles on the metal-polymer films.