Metal-Based Inks for Printed Electronics. Comparison of the Main Approaches to Production

Printed electronic is an area of modern materials science that is undergoing rapid development. The use of printing equipment has the potential to significantly simplify and reduce the cost of producing passive and active electronic components. Several dozens of reviews and hundreds of scientific articles are published annually in this field. However, the consumer characteristics of ink formulations for printed electronic are, to a certain extent, compromise. Improvement of one property usually results in a deterioration of another. For example, increasing the content of the main component usually leads to a decrease in stability. This review will compare two main approaches to producing metal-based inks, which can be conventionally called “organometallic” and “colloidal,” consider their advantages and drawbacks, and assess the prospects for further development of printed electronics.