Novel materials based on nanoparticles having a metallic core and a protective amine wrapping.

The invention relates to nanoparticles having a metallic core (e.g., copper nanoparticles) and a protective wrapping attached to the core, said protective wrapping being derived from aliph. amines. Using said nanoparticles conductive layers or patterns can be produced on the surface of a substrate by providing onto the substrate a layer of the nanoparticles and by subjecting the layer of nanoparticles to heat and pressure to remove protective wrappings of the nanoparticles and to fuse the cores of the nanoparticles to form a conductive pattern. The nanoparticles posses advantageous properties with respect to processability and usability. The protective wrapping is derived from polyethyleneimine (PEI), tetraethylenepentamine (TEPA), or a deriv. thereof. Interactive features could be created in packaging and advertisement products by utilizing printing of conductive, semiconductive and nonconductive structures and embedding the more sophisticated electronic components. [on SciFinder(R)]