Nanotechnology pushes printed electronics to market

Dan Rogers - 07 Aug 2011

Exclusive article from the latest issue of +Plastic Electronics: to read in full click here.

Nanomaterials are becoming synonymous with printed electronics, as new manufacturing techniques enable new commercial applications.

Nanotechnologies are relevant to countless areas of development. Healthcare and medicine, renewable energy, automotive, aerospace, packaging, and electronics are just a small number of the many fields where nanotechnologies have already made an impact.

Intelligent packaging materials have been created that increase the shelf life of products. Tougher or wear-resistant composites of various sorts have been implemented in vehicles, wind turbines and other mechanical structures. The performance characteristics of photovoltaics are being improved. Electronic circuits are being deposited as printed inks using nanomaterials.

The benefits offered by nanotechnologies in these fields are expected to go much further as knowledge of nanoscience improves, and the scope of nanotechnology will also expand to encompass many more applications that have been seen so far.

Printable inks

Even among such varied areas of promising development for nanotechnologies, the role of nanomaterials in printed electronics is notable. The ability to create printable inks containing conductive nanomaterials makes nanotechnology a strong partner for the growing plastic electronics industry.

With nanotechnology being involved at such a fundamental level in the success of the plastic electronics market, this issue of +Plastic Electronics looks at advances in the field of nanotechnology. Our Plugged in: printed nanotechnology series focuses on the progress made in materials performance and supply, and investigates the markets where the combination of nanotechnology and plastic electronics will be most successful.

Want to read more?
This article appears in full in Volume 3, issue 6 of +Plastic Electronics magazine, a nanotechnology special. Plugged In features articles on how nanomaterials are being integrated into the plastic electronics industry; how conductive inks are becoming more important; how nanotechnology is opening new avenues for the display industry; and how solar cell developments are benefiting.
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