Silver nanoparticles (NPs) which could be kept in solid form and were easily stored without degeneration or oxidation at room temperature for a long period of time were synthesized by a simple and environmentally friendly wet chemistry method in an aqueous phase. Highly stable dispersions of aqueous silver NP inks, sintered at room temperature, for printing highly conductive tracks (∼8.0 μΩ cm) were prepared simply by dispersing the synthesized silver NP powder in water. These inks are stable, fairly homogeneous and suitable for a wide range of patterning techniques. The inks were successfully printed on paper and polyethylene terephthalate (PET) substrates using a common color printer. Upon annealing at 180 °C, the resistivity of the printed silver patterns decreased to 3.7 μΩ cm, which is close to twice that of bulk silver. Various factors affecting the resistivity of the printed silver patterns, such as annealing temperature and the number of printing cycles, were investigated. The resulting high conductivity of the printed silver patterns reached over 20% of the bulk silver value under ambient conditions, which enabled the fabrication of flexible electronic devices, as demonstrated by the inkjet printing of conductive circuits of LED devices.

Highly flexible and transparent film heaters (TFHs) with superior mechanical and thermal stability were fabricated by embedding silver nanowires (AgNWs) into transparent polyimide (PI) films using a solution coating method. The fabricated AgNW/PI hybrid TFHs exhibited higher heating temperatures (∼96 °C) with lower input voltage (∼6 V), shorter response time (T < 40 s), and lower power consumption (160.6 °C cm² W⁻¹) than ITO/FTO heaters, as well as stability after repeated use. The AgNW/PI hybrid TFHs also showed excellent resistance to bending. After undergoing outer bending for a 1000 times, the change of sheet resistance was less than 18%. The effective embedment of the AgNW network in the surface of the transparent PI film not only decreased the surface roughness (R_rms < 1 nm) but also enhanced the resistance against oxidation and moisture. Potential applications of the AgNW/PI TFHs in window defogging and thermochromics are demonstrated.