Electrical stability under mechanical durability tests on different substrates

Abstract

With the ever-accelerating technological progress, there is an increasing awareness of more environmentally friendly materials and acceptance of the fact that the development of such materials in all fields of industry has become a necessity. The development of environmentally friendly conductive ink was the aim of this research, where the synthetic base was replaced with a natural one, given that the synthetic base, although water-based, still contains harmful compounds. Tapioca starch was proven to be a worthy replacement for synthetic base, and the conductive material graphite as a replacement for rare metals that are unsustainable, both environmentally and financially. Environmentally friendly conductive ink was prepared by homogenization on a magnetic stirrer with heating until the desired viscosity was achieved, i.e. gelatinization of tapioca starch, and after cooling, it was coated onto different substrates. Electrical conductivity of the printed samples was measured before and after mechanical tests to evaluate the durability and functional stability of the developed ink across different substrates. The development of the new ink formulation focuses on its application as a visible design element on packaging.