High Temperature Copper‐Graphene Conductors via Aerosol Jetting

Additive manufacturing is transforming electronics, attributed to the rapid-prototyping of complex electronic geometries. Herein, aerosol jet printing of nanostructured copper on ceramics is reported, enabling high-temperature hybridized conductors with the ampacity of 2.05 × 109 A m−2 and a negative temperature coefficient of −0.07% °C−1 when subjected to extreme thermal shock. The atomized material jetting results in a layer-by-layer transfer of copper nanoplates, which incorporate a graphene precursor, dopamine, to ensure uniform deposition of conductive materials. Incorporation of graphene in copper maintains the intrinsic electric conductivity of copper while enhancing its ampacity and thermal conductivity, as well as exhibiting a negative temperature coefficient. The mechanistic studies suggest that the graphene formed suppresses the grain growth of the crystallites of hybridized copper–graphene conductor at high temperature. This hybridized conductor through aerosol jet printing is capable of withstanding elevated temperatures and can be utilized for the electronics for harsh environments.