Currently, silver nanoparticles have attracted large interest in the photonics, electrics, analytical, and antimicrobial/biocidal fields due to their excellent optical, electrical, biological, and antibacterial properties. The versatility in generating different sizes, shapes, and surface morphologies results in a wide range of applications of silver nanoparticles in various industrial and health-related areas. In industrial applications, silver nanoparticles are used to produce conductive inks, which allows the construction of electronic devices on low-cost and flexible substrates by using various printing techniques. In order to achieve successful printed patterns, the necessary formulation and synthesis need to be engineered to fulfil the printing technique requirements. Additional sintering processes are typically further required to remove the added polymers, which are used to produce the desired adherence, viscosity, and reliable performance. This contribution presents a review of the synthesis of silver nanoparticles via different methods (chemical, physical and biological methods) and the application of silver nanoparticles under the electrical field. Formulation of silver inks and formation of conductive patterns by using different printing techniques (inkjet printing, screen printing and aerosol jet printing) are presented. Post-printing treatments are also discussed. A summary concerning outlooks and perspectives is presented at the end of this review.

The microstructure and micromechanical properties of the constitutive phases of a particular duplex stainless steel in various processing conditions have been characterized. Hardness (H), elastic modulus (E) and H/E cartography maps were obtained by using a high-speed nanoindentation mapping technique. Small-scale H and E evolution at different processing conditions has been investigated by statistical analysis of a large number of nanoindentations (10,000 imprints per sample). Two mechanically distinct phases, ferrite (α) and austenite (γ), were deconvoluted from this dataset using Ulm and Constantinides’ method, with the remaining values assigned to a third mechanical phase linked to composite-like (containing α/γ interphase boundaries) regions. These mechanical property phase assessments were supplemented by overlaying crystallographic phase maps obtained by electron backscattered diffraction. An excellent correlation between microstructure and small-scale mechanical properties was achieved, especially when considering the ratio H/E.