Graphene ink is a conductive nanomaterial formulation that harnesses the superior electrical, thermal, and mechanical properties of graphene for printed and flexible electronics. As a next-generation replacement for metal-based conductive inks, graphene ink enables high-performance, lightweight, and sustainable electronic components with outstanding flexibility and stability.
Material Overview
Graphene inks are dispersions of few-layer graphene flakes in organic or water-based solvents, stabilized by surfactants or polymeric binders. Their high surface area and exceptional charge carrier mobility (up to 104 cm2·V−1·s−1) make them ideal for conductive coatings and printed circuitry. Optimized formulations can achieve conductivities above 2.1×104 S·m−1 with film thicknesses as low as 7 µm (Liu et al., 2021). Stability remains a critical design factor; recent solvent exchange and binary solvent techniques—using mixtures such as cyclohexanone/ethylene glycol or DMF/ethanol—have achieved inks stable for over two months with negligible resistance change (Ahmed et al., 2022; Htwe et al., 2021). The use of hybrid fillers, including carbon black or silver nanoparticles, further enhances electrical percolation and print resolution while maintaining mechanical flexibility (Sarker, 2022).
Applications and Advantages
Graphene inks enable the scalable fabrication of flexible circuits, sensors, antennas, and wearable electronics. Their low-temperature processing (below 150 °C) allows deposition on diverse substrates including PET, PVA, and textiles. Printed graphene/carbon black hybrid inks can achieve line widths below 100 µm, suitable for roll-to-roll printed electronics (Liu et al., 2021). Water-based graphene/silver nanoparticle composites have demonstrated conductivities more than 100 times higher than individual ink systems, maintaining less than 5 % resistance change after 100 bending cycles (Sarker, 2022). Solvent-optimized inks also show excellent adhesion and wettability, enhancing uniformity for micro-patterned electronics and e-textile applications. The combination of high stability, environmental safety, and low cost positions graphene inks as a cornerstone material for the future of sustainable electronics manufacturing.
Goodfellow Availability
Goodfellow provides high-quality graphene inks engineered for advanced research and industrial applications. Formulations are available for screen printing, inkjet deposition, and flexible circuit fabrication, offering superior electrical conductivity, mechanical durability, and long-term stability.
Explore Graphene C – Ink and other advanced materials in Goodfellow’s online catalogue: Goodfellow product finder.
References
- Liu, L., Shen, Z., Zhang, X., & Ma, H. (2021). Highly conductive graphene/carbon black screen printing inks for flexible electronics. Journal of Colloid and Interface Science, 582, 678–689. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jcis.2020.07.106
- Htwe, Y. Z. N., Abdullah, M. K., & Mariatti, M. (2021). Optimization of graphene conductive ink using solvent exchange techniques for flexible electronics applications. Synthetic Metals, 274, 116719. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.synthmet.2021.116719
- Ahmed, M. R., Mirihanage, W., Potluri, P., & Fernando, A. (2022). Highly stable graphene inks based on organic binary solvents. Physica Status Solidi C, 2200153. https://doi.org/10.1002/ppsc.202200153
- Sarker, M. N. I. (2022). Water-based graphene/AgNPs hybrid conductive inks for flexible electronic applications. Journal of Materials Research and Technology, 18, 2281–2292. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jmrt.2021.11.159
- Htwe, Y. Z. N., Chow, W. S., Suriati, G., Thant, A. A., & Mariatti, M. (2019). Properties enhancement of graphene and chemical reduction silver nanoparticles conductive inks printed on PVA substrate. Synthetic Metals, 256, 116120. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.synthmet.2019.116120