Development of ultrafine indium tin oxide (ITO) nanoparticle for ink-jet printing by low-temperature synthetic method

In this paper, an ultrafine indium tin oxide (ITO) nanoparticle for ink-jet printing was successfully developed by applying low-temperature synthetic method at 300°C. Mean size of the synthesized ITO nanoparticle is 5 nm with uniformity. High specific surface area above 100 m²/g certifies the ultrafine particle size. Especially, the ITO nanoparticle was well dispersed by the surface additive. Despite the low-temperature synthesis at 300°C, the ITO nanoparticle was well crystallized with (2 2 2) preferred orientation. Composition ratio of In and Sn is 90 and 10 wt% in the lattice of the ITO nanoparticle. Also, using the well-dispersed ultrafine ITO nanoparticle, ITO ink was attempted to be used for ink-jet printing. As a result, ITO ink was made well by dispersing the ITO nanoparticle into the organic solvent uniformly. Using the nano-ITO ink, ITO transparent thin film with high optical transmittance over 90% could be fabricated.