New particle deposition techniques, such as ink-jet printing, have attracted considerable attention in the printed electronics arena. Promises of high through-put printing on plastic substrates, for example, is just one of the enticing possible outcomes of ink-jetting. While there is significant potential for this new technology, its development has been hindered by the lack of easily accessible, low cost materials with suitable properties. Spherical particles, which are generally the precursors of sintered films, are currently available only at a very high cost. Anisometric or platelet shaped particles, which could replace existing materials for non-sintered films, are not yet commercially available due to the inability of current particle production methods to produce materials with reproducible properties.

We present two types of silver nanoparticles prepared via precipitation from homogeneous solutions, which can be used as precursors for printing conductive metallic films. Since this method allows for excellent control over the particle structure, composition, and surface properties, it is capable of generating sophisticated materials for ink-jet printable applications. Both isometric and anisometric silver powders with controlled size, size distribution and shape were generated by tailoring certain critical parameters of the reduction process. Microscopy revealed that the isometric particles consists of spherical particles with an average diameter of 30nm. The anisometric particles consist of triangular and hexagonal platelets, their width ranging from 500nm to1ìm, with an average diameter of 800nm, and their thickness between 60 and 80nm. Analysis of the thermal, mechanical, chemical and electrical properties of the particles will also be presented.