JP7785283B2 - Nanowire manufacturing jig, nanowire transfer body, nanowire manufacturing device, and nanowire manufacturing method - Google Patents

Description

This disclosure relates to a nanowire manufacturing jig, a nanowire transfer body, a nanowire manufacturing apparatus, and a nanowire manufacturing method.

A conventional method for producing nanowires involves electrospinning a nanofiber nanoparticle composite from an electrospinning synthesis solution containing nanoparticles, drying the resulting composite, and then growing nanowires from the nanoparticles using hydrothermal synthesis on the dried nanofiber nanoparticle composite (see, for example, Patent Document 1). In this production method, the electrospinning synthesis solution is sprayed toward a collector via a syringe pump to produce the nanofiber nanoparticle composite.

Special table 2019-505700 publication

The collectors used to produce nanowires generally have a small area, making it difficult to produce nanowires efficiently, which is an obstacle to reducing the cost of nanowires.

Therefore, an objective of the present disclosure is to provide a nanowire manufacturing jig, a nanowire transfer body, a nanowire manufacturing apparatus, and a nanowire manufacturing method that can reduce the cost of manufacturing nanowires.

The nanowire production jig disclosed herein is a nanowire production jig used for producing nanowires, and includes a film substrate that can be wound in a rolling direction, a plurality of protrusions that protrude from the film substrate, extend in a width direction perpendicular to the rolling direction, and are spaced apart at predetermined intervals in the rolling direction, and a conductive film pattern that is provided on the film substrate and the plurality of protrusions, and that forms nanofibers that serve as core materials for the nanowires between adjacent protrusions.

The nanowire transfer body of the present disclosure is a nanowire transfer body onto which the nanowires manufactured using the nanowire production jig described above have been transferred. The film substrate of the nanowire production jig is pulled in the roll direction, pulling the mountain-folded protrusions so that they are flush with the film substrate, and the nanowires formed between adjacent protrusions are transferred to the film substrate.

Another nanowire transfer material disclosed herein is a nanowire transfer material onto which the nanowires manufactured using the nanowire manufacturing tool described above have been transferred, and by separating the nanowires from the film substrate, the transfer material contains the transferred nanowires.

The nanowire manufacturing apparatus of the present disclosure is a nanowire manufacturing apparatus that uses the nanowire manufacturing jig described above to manufacture the nanowires, wherein the nanowire manufacturing jig is wound in the rolling direction, and includes a supply unit that supplies the wound nanowire manufacturing jig in the rolling direction, a fiber forming unit that forms nanofibers that will serve as the core material of the nanowires on the supplied nanowire manufacturing jig, a thin film forming unit that forms a metal thin film on the nanofibers to form the nanowires, and a recovery unit that winds the nanowire manufacturing jig in the rolling direction and recovers it after the nanowires have been manufactured.

The nanowire production method disclosed herein is a nanowire production method that uses the nanowire production jig described above to produce the nanowire, wherein the nanowire production jig is wound in the rolling direction, and includes the steps of: supplying the wound nanowire production jig in the rolling direction; forming nanofibers that will serve as the core material of the nanowires on the supplied nanowire production jig; forming a metal thin film on the nanofibers to form the nanowires; and winding the nanowire production jig in the rolling direction and recovering it after the nanowires have been produced.

This disclosure makes it possible to reduce the manufacturing costs of nanowires.

FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram showing the configuration of a nanowire manufacturing apparatus according to the first embodiment. FIG. 2 is a perspective view schematically illustrating the nanowire manufacturing jig according to the first embodiment. FIG. 3 is an explanatory diagram of the nanowire transferred body according to the first embodiment. FIG. 4 is a flowchart illustrating an example of the nanowire manufacturing method according to the first embodiment. FIG. 5 is a schematic diagram showing the configuration of a nanowire manufacturing apparatus according to the second embodiment. FIG. 6 is an explanatory diagram of a nanowire transferred body according to the second embodiment.

Embodiments of the present disclosure are described in detail below with reference to the drawings. However, the present invention is not limited to these embodiments. Furthermore, the components in the following embodiments include those that are easily replaceable by those skilled in the art, or those that are substantially identical. Furthermore, the components described below can be combined as appropriate, and if there are multiple embodiments, the respective embodiments can also be combined.

[Embodiment 1]
The nanowire manufacturing jig 10 according to the first embodiment is used in a nanowire manufacturing apparatus 1 and a nanowire manufacturing method for manufacturing nanowires, and the manufactured nanowires NW are commercialized and provided as nanowire transfer bodies 20.

Figure 1 is a schematic diagram showing the configuration of a nanowire manufacturing apparatus according to embodiment 1. Figure 2 is a perspective view showing a nanowire manufacturing jig according to embodiment 1. Figure 3 is an explanatory diagram of a nanowire transfer body according to embodiment 1. Figure 4 is a flowchart showing an example of a nanowire manufacturing method according to embodiment 1. First, the nanowire manufacturing apparatus 1 will be described with reference to Figures 1 and 2.

(Nanowire manufacturing equipment)
The nanowire production apparatus 1 is an apparatus for producing nanowires NW by a roll-to-roll method using a nanowire production jig 10. As shown in FIG. 2 , the nanowires NW are formed by forming a metal thin film MF on a nanofiber NF as a core material. The nanowire production apparatus 1 includes a supply unit 4, a fiber forming unit 5, a thin film forming unit 6, and a collection unit 7. The nanowire production jig 10 used in the nanowire production apparatus 1 is a roll wound in the roll direction, and the rolled nanowire production jig 10 is set in the supply unit 4.

The supply unit 4 supplies the nanowire production jig 10, which is in the form of a roll, toward the collection unit 7 by unwinding it in the roll direction. The supply unit 4 holds the roll axis of the nanowire production jig 10 and rotates around the roll axis, unwinding the nanowire production jig 10 in the roll direction.

The fiber forming unit 5 uses electrospinning (electrospinning) to form the nanofiber NW that serves as the core material on the nanowire production jig 10. The fiber forming unit 5 is positioned opposite the nanowire production jig 10 that is unwound in the rolling direction. The fiber forming unit 5 causes the nanowire production jig 10 to function as a collector. The nanofiber NW is formed on the nanowire production jig 10 so that its fiber direction is aligned with the rolling direction.

The thin film forming unit 6 forms a thin metal film MF by sputtering, vapor deposition, or the like on the nanofiber NW formed on the nanowire production jig 10 to produce the nanowire NW. The thin film forming unit 6 is located opposite the nanowire production jig 10 unrolled in the rolling direction, and is located downstream of the fiber forming unit 5 in the rolling direction.

The recovery unit 7 recovers the nanowire production jig 10 after the nanowires NW have been produced by winding it in the roll direction. In embodiment 1, the recovery unit 7 recovers the nanowire production jig 10 along with the produced nanowires NW. The recovery unit 7 rotates around the roll axis that holds the recovered nanowire production jig 10, winding the nanowire production jig 10 in the roll direction to form a roll.

In the nanowire production apparatus 1 described above, when the nanowire production jig 10 is fed from the supply unit 4, the fiber forming unit 5 forms nanofibers NF on the fed nanowire production jig 10 using electrospinning. Then, in the nanowire production apparatus 1, the thin film forming unit 6 forms a thin metal film MF on the nanofibers NF formed in the nanowire production jig 10, thereby producing nanowires NW. Then, in the nanowire production apparatus 1, the recovery unit 7 winds up the nanowire production jig 10 along with the produced nanowires NW.

(Nanowire manufacturing jig)
Next, the nanowire production jig 10 will be described with reference to Fig. 2. The nanowire production jig 10 includes a film substrate 11, a plurality of protrusions 12, and a conductive film pattern 13.

The film substrate 11 is made of a flexible material that can be rolled in the roll direction, and is, for example, a transparent film made of a resin such as PET. The film substrate 11 also functions as a transfer film that transfers the nanowires NW manufactured on the nanowire manufacturing jig 10. In other words, the film substrate 11 is a film that can hold the nanowires NW by coming into contact with it. The length L1 of the film substrate 11 in the width direction is, for example, approximately 250 mm.

The protrusions 12 protrude from the film substrate 11 and are formed by folding a portion of the film substrate 11 in a mountain-like manner. The protrusions 12 extend in the width direction, which is perpendicular to the rolling direction. The protrusions 12 are arranged at a predetermined distance from the widthwise ends of the film substrate 11 in the width direction. A plurality of protrusions 12 are arranged in a row at predetermined intervals in the rolling direction. The cross section of each protrusion 12 taken along a plane perpendicular to the width direction has a mountain-like shape with an apex. The height of the protrusions 12 from the film substrate 11 is, for example, approximately 1 mm, which is the minimum height required to form nanofibers NF. The distance L2 between adjacent protrusions 12 in the rolling direction is, for example, approximately 20 mm.

The conductive film pattern 13 is provided to allow the nanowire production jig 10 to function as a collector, i.e., to form nanofibers NF between adjacent protrusions 12 in the rolling direction. The conductive film pattern 13 includes a first pattern 13a provided on the film substrate 11 and a second pattern 13b provided on the protrusions 12. A pair of first patterns 13a are provided on both sides of the film substrate 11 in the width direction, spanning the rolling direction. The second pattern 13b is provided on the top of each protrusion 12, spanning the width direction. Both sides of the second pattern 13b in the width direction are connected to the pair of first patterns 13a.

The nanowire production jig 10 as described above has valley fold lines 15 and multiple incisions 16 formed on both sides in the width direction. A pair of valley fold lines 15 is provided on both sides in the width direction of the film substrate 11, and they are provided across the roll direction. The valley fold lines 15 are formed with a predetermined gap from both ends in the width direction. Note that the length L3 from the end of the film substrate 11 to the valley fold line 15 in the width direction is, for example, approximately 5 mm. The multiple incisions 16 are provided at the same positions as the multiple protrusions 12 in the roll direction. The incisions 16 are formed in the width direction from the end of the film substrate 11 to the protrusions 12.

The film substrate 11 is valley-folded along the valley fold lines 15 between adjacent notches 16 in the rolling direction, thereby increasing its rigidity in the rolling direction. This allows the valley-folded portions to maintain the spacing between adjacent protrusions 12 in the rolling direction. When transferring the formed nanowires NW to the film substrate 11, the valley folds of the film substrate 11 are returned to their original state.

(Nanowire transfer body)
Next, the operation of manufacturing the nanowire transfer body 20 will be described with reference to Fig. 3. In the first embodiment, the nanowire NW manufactured on the nanowire manufacturing jig 10 is transferred to the film substrate 11 to manufacture the nanowire transfer body 20. Fig. 3 is a diagram of the nanowire manufacturing jig 10 cut along a plane perpendicular to the width direction.

First, as shown in FIG. 3, nanowires NW are formed on the nanowire production jig 10 so as to bridge between protrusions 12 adjacent in the rolling direction (step S11). When the nanowire production jig 10 is pulled from the state in step S11, the mountain-folded protrusions 12 are stretched (step S12). When the nanowire production jig 10 is further pulled from step S12, the protrusions 12 become approximately flush with the film substrate 11, and the nanowires NW come into contact with the film substrate 11 (step S13). In step S13, the nanowires NW in contact with the film substrate 11 are held by the film substrate 11, resulting in a nanowire transfer body 20 in which the nanowires NW are transferred to the film substrate 11.

(Method of Manufacturing Nanowires)
Next, an example of a method for producing nanowires NW using the nanowire production apparatus 1 will be described with reference to FIG.

In the nanowire production method, nanowires NW are produced using the nanowire production jig 10 described above. The nanowire production jig 10 is in the form of a roll and is set in the supply unit 4. The tip of the nanowire production jig 10 unwound from the supply unit 4 is set in the recovery unit 7. In this state, the nanowire production method first unwounds the nanowire production jig 10 from the supply unit 4 in the roll direction, supplying the wound nanowire production jig 10 (Step S1). Next, in the nanowire production method, the fiber forming unit 5 forms nanofibers NF on the supplied nanowire production jig 10 (Step S2). Thereafter, in the nanowire production method, the thin film forming unit 6 forms a metal thin film MF on the nanofibers NF formed in the nanowire production jig 10, thereby producing nanowires NW (Step S3). In the nanowire production method, the nanowire production jig 10 is then pulled to transfer the produced nanowires NW to the film substrate 11, converting the nanowire production jig 10 into a nanowire transfer body 20 (step S4). After this, in the nanowire production method, the nanowire production jig 10 after the nanowires NW have been produced, i.e., the nanowire transfer body 20, is wound up in the roll direction by the recovery unit 7 and recovered (step S5). In the nanowire production method, nanowires NW are continuously produced until the supply of the nanowire production jig 10 is stopped, and the series of processes ends when the supply of the nanowire production jig 10 is stopped.

[Embodiment 2]
Next, a second embodiment will be described with reference to Figures 5 and 6. In order to avoid redundant description, only parts different from the first embodiment will be described in the second embodiment, and parts having the same configuration as the first embodiment will be described using the same reference numerals. Figure 5 is a schematic diagram showing the configuration of a nanowire production apparatus according to the second embodiment. Figure 6 is an explanatory diagram of a nanowire transfer body according to the second embodiment.

In embodiment 1, the manufactured nanowires NW were transferred to the film substrate 11 of the nanowire production jig 10 to form the nanowire transfer body 20, but in embodiment 2, the manufactured nanowires NW are transferred to the transfer material 35 of the nanowire production jig 10 to form the nanowire transfer body 40.

(Nanowire manufacturing equipment)
The nanowire manufacturing apparatus 31 of the second embodiment further includes a transfer unit 33 in addition to the nanowire manufacturing tool 10 of the first embodiment.

The transfer unit 33 has multiple transfer rolls 34, and supplies the transfer material 35 in the direction of the rolls, with the transfer material 35 facing the nanowire production jig 10. The transfer unit 33 is located downstream of the thin film formation unit 6 in the direction of the rolls. The transfer unit 33 supplies the transfer material 35 at approximately the same supply speed as the nanowire production jig 10.

(Nanowire manufacturing jig)
The nanowire production jig 10 of the second embodiment further includes a transfer material 35 in addition to the components of the nanowire production jig 10 of the first embodiment. The transfer material 35 is a transfer film onto which the nanowires NW produced on the nanowire production jig 10 are transferred. The transfer material is not limited to a transfer film, but may be a flat plate-shaped material, or any material capable of transferring the nanowires NW. In the case of the second embodiment, as shown in FIG. 6 , the protrusions 12 of the nanowire production jig 10 do not need to be formed by mountain folding, and may be formed separately on the film substrate 11, for example.

(Nanowire transfer body)
Next, the operation of manufacturing the nanowire transfer body 20 will be described with reference to Fig. 6. In the second embodiment, the nanowire NW manufactured on the nanowire manufacturing jig 10 is transferred to a transfer material 35 to manufacture the nanowire transfer body 40. Fig. 6 is a diagram of the nanowire manufacturing jig 10 cut along a plane perpendicular to the width direction.

First, as shown in FIG. 6, nanowires NW are formed on the nanowire production jig 10 so as to bridge between adjacent protrusions 12 in the roll direction (step S21). From the state of step S21, when a transfer material 35 comes into contact with the nanowire production jig 10, the nanowires NW are transferred to the transfer material 35 (step S22). When the transfer material 35 and the film substrate 11 are separated from each other in step S22, the nanowires NW in contact with the transfer material 35 are held by the transfer material 35, resulting in a nanowire transfer body 20 in which the nanowires NW are transferred to the transfer material 35.

(Method of Manufacturing Nanowires)
In the nanowire production method of embodiment 2, in step S4 of Figure 4, after the transfer material 35 is brought into contact with the nanowire production jig 10, the transfer material 35 is pulled away from the nanowire production jig 10, and the transfer material 35 becomes the nanowire transfer body 20.

As described above, the nanowire manufacturing jig 10, nanowire transfer bodies 20, 40, nanowire manufacturing apparatuses 1, 31, and nanowire manufacturing methods described in the embodiments can be understood, for example, as follows:

The nanowire production jig 10 according to the first aspect is a nanowire production jig 10 used to produce nanowires NW, and comprises a film substrate 11 that can be wound in a rolling direction, a plurality of protrusions 12 that protrude from the film substrate 11, extend in a width direction perpendicular to the rolling direction, and are spaced apart at predetermined intervals in the rolling direction, and a conductive film pattern 13 that is provided on the film substrate 11 and the plurality of protrusions 12 and that forms nanofibers NF, which serve as the core material of the nanowires NW, between adjacent protrusions 12.

This configuration allows nanowires NW to be continuously manufactured using the nanowire manufacturing jig 10, thereby reducing the manufacturing costs of nanowires NW.

In a second aspect, the cross section of the protrusion 12 taken along a plane perpendicular to the width direction has a mountain-like shape with an apex.

This configuration allows nanofibers NF to be formed favorably between the protrusions 12.

In a third aspect, the protrusion 12 is formed by folding a portion of the film substrate 11, and the film substrate 11 serves as a transfer film onto which the manufactured nanowire NW is transferred.

With this configuration, the nanowires NW can be transferred to the film substrate 11 by pulling the film substrate 11.

In a fourth aspect, the device further includes a transfer material 35 that is provided opposite the film substrate 11 and transfers the nanowires NW manufactured on the film substrate 11.

This configuration allows the nanowires NW to be transferred to the transfer material 35.

The nanowire transfer body according to the fifth aspect is a nanowire transfer body 20 onto which the nanowire NW produced using the nanowire production jig 10 described above has been transferred. The film substrate 11 of the nanowire production jig 10 is pulled in the rolling direction, pulling the mountain-folded protrusions 12 so that they are flush with the film substrate 11, and the nanowire NW formed between adjacent protrusions 12 is transferred to the film substrate 11.

With this configuration, the nanowire manufacturing jig 10 can also be used as the nanowire transfer body 20.

The nanowire transfer body according to the sixth aspect is a nanowire transfer body 40 onto which the nanowire NW manufactured using the nanowire manufacturing jig 10 has been transferred, and by separating it from the film substrate 11, the transfer material 35 contains the transferred nanowire NW.

With this configuration, the nanowire manufacturing jig 10 can be collected separately and reused.

The nanowire manufacturing apparatus according to the seventh aspect is a nanowire manufacturing apparatus 1, 31 that uses the nanowire manufacturing jig 10 described above to manufacture the nanowire NW. The nanowire manufacturing jig 10 is wound in the rolling direction, and includes a supply unit 4 that supplies the wound nanowire manufacturing jig 10 in the rolling direction, a fiber forming unit 5 that forms nanofibers NF that serve as the core material of the nanowire NW on the supplied nanowire manufacturing jig 10, a thin film forming unit 6 that forms a metal thin film MF on the nanofiber NF to form the nanowire NW, and a recovery unit 7 that winds the nanowire manufacturing jig 10 in the rolling direction and recovers it after the nanowire NW has been manufactured.

This configuration allows nanowires NW to be continuously manufactured using the nanowire manufacturing jig 10, thereby reducing the manufacturing costs of nanowires NW.

The nanowire production method according to the eighth aspect is a nanowire production method for producing the nanowire NW using the nanowire production jig 10 described above, wherein the nanowire production jig 10 is wound in the rolling direction, and includes step S1 of supplying the wound nanowire production jig 10 in the rolling direction; step S2 of forming nanofibers NF that will serve as the core material of the nanowire NW on the supplied nanowire production jig 10; step S3 of forming a thin metal film MF on the nanofibers NF to form the nanowire NW; and step S5 of winding the nanowire production jig 10 in the rolling direction and recovering it after the nanowire NW has been produced.

This configuration allows nanowires NW to be continuously manufactured using the nanowire manufacturing jig 10, thereby reducing the manufacturing costs of nanowires NW.

REFERENCE SIGNS LIST 1 nanowire manufacturing apparatus 4 supply section 5 fiber forming section 6 thin film forming section 7 recovery section 10 nanowire manufacturing jig 11 film substrate 12 protrusion section 13 conductive film pattern 15 valley fold line 16 notch 20 nanowire transfer body 31 nanowire manufacturing apparatus 33 transfer section 34 transfer roll 35 transfer material 40 nanowire transfer body NW nanowire NF nanofiber MF metal thin film

Claims (7)

A nanowire production tool used in producing nanowires, comprising:
a film substrate that can be wound in a roll direction;
a plurality of protrusions provided to protrude from the film substrate, extending in a width direction perpendicular to the roll direction, and provided at predetermined intervals in the roll direction;
a conductive film pattern provided on the film substrate and the plurality of protrusions, for forming nanofibers that serve as core materials for the nanowires between adjacent protrusions. A nanowire manufacturing jig as described in claim 1, wherein the cross-sectional shape of the protrusion taken along a plane perpendicular to the width direction is a mountain shape with a vertex. the protrusion is a portion formed by folding a part of the film substrate;
3. The nanowire manufacturing tool according to claim 1, wherein the film substrate is a transfer film onto which the manufactured nanowires are transferred. The nanowire manufacturing tool described in claim 1 or 2 further comprises a transfer material disposed opposite the film substrate and used to transfer the nanowires manufactured on the film substrate. A nanowire transfer body to which the nanowires are transferred, which is manufactured using the nanowire manufacturing tool according to claim 3,
The film substrate of the nanowire production jig is pulled in the roll direction, causing the mountain-folded protrusions to be pulled so that they are flush with the film substrate, and the nanowires formed between adjacent protrusions are transferred to the film substrate to form a nanowire transfer body. A nanowire manufacturing apparatus for manufacturing nanowires using the nanowire manufacturing tool according to any one of claims 1 to 4, comprising:
the nanowire production jig is wound in the roll direction;
a supply unit that supplies the wound nanowire manufacturing jig in the direction of the roll;
a fiber forming unit that forms nanofibers that serve as core materials for the nanowires on the supplied nanowire production jig;
a thin film forming unit for forming a metal thin film on the nanofiber to form the nanowire;
a recovery unit that recovers the nanowire production jig by rolling it up in a roll direction after the nanowires have been produced. A nanowire manufacturing method for manufacturing the nanowire using the nanowire manufacturing tool according to any one of claims 1 to 4, comprising the steps of:
the nanowire production jig is wound in the roll direction;
feeding the wound nanowire production jig in the direction of the roll;
forming nanofibers that will be core materials of the nanowires on the supplied nanowire production jig;
forming a metal thin film on the nanofiber to form the nanowire;
and recovering the nanowire manufacturing jig after the nanowire has been manufactured by rolling it up in a roll direction.