JP2012174797A - Conductive paste for photogravure used for multilayer ceramic capacitor internal electrode - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a conductive paste for photogravure which is used in manufacturing a multilayer ceramic capacitor internal electrode and has a viscosity fit for photogravure and good drying property, and in which conductive powder and dielectric powder never separate from each other.SOLUTION: The conductive paste for a multilayer ceramic capacitor internal electrode comprises conductive powder, an organic resin, an organic solvent, an additive agent, and dielectric powder. The organic resin includes polyvinyl butyral having a polymerization degree of 10000-50000, and ethyl cellulose having a weight-average molecular weight of 10000-100000. The organic solvent consists of propyleneglycol monobutyl ether, a mixture of propyleneglycol monobutyl ether and propylene glycol methylether acetate or a mixture of propyleneglycol monobutyl ether and mineral spirit. The additive agent includes a separation inhibitor and a dispersant. The separation inhibitor contains polycarboxylic acid polymer or a composition containing polycarboxylate.

Description

  The present invention relates to a conductive paste for multilayer ceramic capacitor internal electrodes, and more particularly to a conductive paste for gravure printing.

  In electronic devices such as mobile phones and digital devices, electronic components used are becoming lighter, thinner and smaller year by year, and multilayer ceramic capacitors (MLCC), which are chip components, are also becoming smaller and larger in capacity. Yes.

  A multilayer body in which dielectrics and internal electrodes alternately overlap is disposed inside the multilayer ceramic capacitor, and external electrodes are attached to both ends of the multilayer ceramic capacitor so as to face the outside of the multilayer body.

  As the dielectric, perovskite oxides such as barium titanate, strontium titanate, and magnesium titanate are used. In order to form the laminate, a powdered dielectric is dispersed in an organic vehicle composed of a resin such as polyvinyl butyral and acrylic and a solvent, and is formed into a slurry, and is formed into a sheet on a PET film by a doctor blade method. After drying (generally referred to as a green sheet), the internal electrode metal paste is transferred onto the surface of the green sheet in a predetermined pattern by screen printing, dried, and the internal electrode and the green sheet are alternately overlapped with each other. After stacking the number of sheets, compressing and compressing, the thermocompression-bonded body is cut into a desired size. In an electric furnace, generally a belt furnace, the organic vehicle is burned by heating in an air atmosphere, a nitrogen atmosphere, or a mixed atmosphere of air and nitrogen for the purpose of removing the organic binder. Let

  Conventionally, noble metal materials such as palladium and silver-palladium alloys have been used for internal electrodes of multilayer ceramic capacitors, but today, base metals such as nickel and copper are used for cost reduction. The multilayer ceramic capacitor using these metal internal electrodes is heated in a neutral or reducing atmosphere so as not to oxidize nickel, copper, etc. after removing the organic binder, and subsequently fired at 850 to 1350 ° C. to form internal electrodes, And the dielectric is integrally sintered.

  The laminated body on which internal electrodes such as nickel and copper are formed is polished by barrel polishing on both end faces thereof, and after exposing the internal electrodes, an external electrode paste is applied to the polished end faces and fired. Mounting and plating on the surface make the product.

  The internal electrode paste is composed of a base metal powder as a conductive component, a dielectric ceramic powder as a sintering regulator, a resin as an organic binder and a solvent for dissolving it, and an additive comprising a dispersing agent. It is manufactured by kneading and mixing and dispersing. In other words, the internal electrode paste is obtained by dispersing metal powder in an organic vehicle obtained by dissolving a resin serving as an organic binder in an organic solvent, and adjusting the viscosity with the organic solvent.

  In general, terpineol is often used as the organic solvent in the organic vehicle. As the organic binder, cellulose resins such as ethyl cellulose and nitrocellulose, and acrylic resins such as butyl methacrylate and methyl methacrylate are used.

  By the way, the above-mentioned conductive paste for internal electrodes for MLCC has been often used for screen printing. However, due to demands for cost reduction and productivity improvement, gravure printing, which has a higher printing speed than screen printing and is expected to improve productivity, has attracted attention, and a conductive paste that can be used for gravure printing has been demanded.

  Since the printing speed of gravure printing is faster than that of screen printing, the viscosity of the paste needs to be lower than that of the screen printing paste in order to perform printing corresponding to the speed. However, when the viscosity is lowered, separation between the conductive powder having different specific gravity and the dielectric powder as the sintering adjuster is likely to occur. In order to obtain sufficient characteristics by gravure printing, a conductive paste that has low viscosity and does not separate the base metal powder and the dielectric powder is necessary.

  Furthermore, in order to improve productivity, it is also important to make the drying speed faster than the screen printing paste. By increasing the drying speed, it is possible to smoothly shift to the process after the printing process, and it is possible to improve productivity.

Conventional electroconductive paste for gravure printing has an extremely low ink viscosity instead of electrode ink for screen printing, can prevent thixotropy, and low-cost, high-performance multilayer ceramic capacitors and other multilayer piezoelectric elements, There are inks for gravure electrode printing for multilayer ceramic electronic parts such as multilayer varistors. An example of this is an electrode ink for gravure printing containing a base metal powder containing nickel as a main component, wherein the resin is 1 to 15 parts by weight and the organic solvent is 20 parts by weight with respect to 100 parts by weight of the metal powder. An electrode ink for gravure printing having a viscosity of 10 parts or more and 150 parts by weight or less and having an aggregate of 10 μm or more removed is known (for example, see Patent Document 1).
This ink can be used to manufacture multilayer ceramic capacitors at a lower cost by using nickel as the main component, and it will be possible to reduce the cost and increase the reliability of multilayer ceramic electronic components such as multilayer ceramic capacitors. Yes.
However, although the electrode ink for gravure printing disclosed in Patent Document 1 is effective as a conductive gravure printing paste, it does not contain dielectric powder as a sintering modifier, so delamination occurs during sintering. There is a drawback that cracks are likely to occur.

In order to make it suitable for gravure printing, the solid component containing metal powder is dispersed as a conductive paste for gravure printing that reduces viscosity, does not cause precipitation of metal powder, and provides a printed film with excellent smoothness. An agent and a solvent component are mixed and dispersed to form a first slurry, and the first slurry is mixed with an ethylcellulose resin component having a ethoxy group content of 49.6% or more and a solvent component, followed by a dispersion treatment. A conductive gravure printing paste in which a lump of 1.0 μm or more is removed from the second slurry is disclosed as a slurry (see, for example, Patent Document 2).
This conductive gravure printing paste has a viscosity η0.1 at a shear rate of 0.1 (s ⁻¹ ) of 1 Pa · s or more, and a viscosity η0.02 at a shear rate of 0.02 (s ⁻¹ ). , Η0.1 × 1.2 ≦ η0.02 ≦ η0.1 × 3.
However, since the conductive gravure printing paste disclosed in Patent Document 2 uses only ethyl cellulose as the resin and does not contain the resin contained in the green sheet to be used in the present invention, the adhesion strength with the green sheet is insufficient. It has become.

Japanese Patent No. 3180718 JP 2003-187638 A

  An object of the present invention is a conductive paste containing a dielectric powder and a resin used for ceramic green sheets, having a viscosity suitable for gravure printing, good drying properties, and a conductive powder. The present invention proposes a multilayer ceramic capacitor internal electrode paste for gravure printing without separation of dielectric powder.

  In order to solve the above problems, the conductive paste for gravure printing of the present invention comprises a conductive powder (A), an organic resin (B), an organic solvent (C), an additive (D), and a dielectric powder (E). The organic paste (B) is composed of polyvinyl butyral having a degree of polymerization of 10,000 to 50,000 and ethyl cellulose having a weight average molecular weight of 10,000 to 100,000, and includes an organic solvent (C ) Consists of either propylene glycol monobutyl ether, a mixed solvent of propylene glycol monobutyl ether and propylene glycol methyl ether acetate, or a mixed solvent of propylene glycol monobutyl ether and mineral spirit, and additive (D) is dispersed with a separation inhibitor Consisting of agent, the separation It was gravure printing conductive paste made from a composition comprising a salt of a polycarboxylic acid polymer or polycarboxylic acid as a control agent.

In the conductive paste for gravure printing of the present invention, the content of the conductive powder (A) is preferably 30% by mass or more and 70% by mass or less with respect to the total amount of the paste.
Moreover, it is preferable that the content rate of organic resin (B) is 1 to 5 mass% with respect to the paste whole quantity.
Moreover, it is preferable that the content rate of the separation inhibitor in an additive (D) is 0.4 to 1.2 mass% with respect to electroconductive paste whole quantity.
It is preferable that the content rate of the dispersing agent in an additive (D) is 0.1 to 2.0 mass% with respect to the paste whole quantity.
Further, BaTiO ₃ can be used as the dielectric powder (E).
Furthermore, it is preferable that the content rate of dielectric powder (E) is 1 to 30 mass% with respect to the paste whole quantity.

The conductive paste for gravure printing of the present invention preferably has a viscosity at room temperature of 0.05 Pa · s to 0.3 Pa · s.
Moreover, it is preferable that the loss on heating at 120 ° C. for 10 minutes has a drying rate of 50% or more.

  The conductive paste for the multilayer ceramic capacitor internal electrode of the present invention is configured as described above, and in particular, by using an appropriate resin, a viscosity suitable for gravure printing can be obtained. In addition, the uniformity and stability of the paste is improved, and printing with a constant ratio between the conductive powder and the dielectric powder can be performed at all times, and the gravure printability is improved. In addition, since a solvent having good drying properties is selected, an effect of improving productivity can be obtained. Further, since a separation inhibitor is added as an additive in addition to the dispersant, there is no separation between the conductive powder and the dielectric powder, and uniform print quality can be obtained.

It is a graph which shows the thermogravimetric analysis result of various solvents in 120 degreeC. It is a figure which shows the example of the isolation | separation state of the powder particle in an electrically conductive paste, (a) shows what was isolate | separated (Comparative Example 1), (b) shows what is not isolate | separated (Example 1).

  Hereinafter, the conductive paste for a multilayer ceramic capacitor internal electrode for gravure printing of the present invention (hereinafter simply referred to as a conductive paste) will be described in detail.

  The conductive paste for gravure printing cannot be printed unless the viscosity is made lower than the conductive paste for screen printing. Therefore, an attempt was made to lower the viscosity by lowering the polymerization degree of the resin based on the conductive paste conventionally used for screen printing. In addition, in order to improve the drying property as compared with the screen printing, a solvent having compatibility with the resin and having good drying property was selected. Thus, a conductive paste having a viscosity and drying property suitable for screen printing can be produced. However, by lowering the viscosity, a new problem of separation of the conductive powder due to the difference in specific gravity between the conductive powder and the dielectric powder occurs. Therefore, the use of a separation inhibitor as an additive succeeded in suppressing the separation of conductive powder and dielectric powder.

The conductive paste of the present invention was composed of the following composition. That is, a conductive paste for an inner electrode of a multilayer ceramic capacitor containing conductive powder (A), organic resin (B), organic solvent (C), additive (D), and dielectric powder (E), The organic resin (B) is composed of polyvinyl butyral having a polymerization degree of 10,000 to 50,000 and ethyl cellulose having a weight average molecular weight of 10,000 to 100,000, and the organic solvent (C) is propylene glycol monobutyl ether or propylene glycol monobutyl ether and propylene glycol methyl. For gravure printing, consisting of either a mixed solvent of ether acetate or a mixed solvent of propylene glycol monobutyl ether and mineral spirit, and additive (D) consisting of separation inhibitor (D-1) and dispersant (D-2) A conductive paste was obtained.
Hereinafter, each composition will be described in detail, and then a method for producing a paste will be described.

1. Conductive powder (A)
In the present invention, the conductive powder used in the conductive paste is not particularly limited, but is used as an internal electrode of a multilayer component such as a multilayer ceramic capacitor. For example, nickel, copper, gold, silver, platinum, palladium, etc. These metal powders and alloy powders thereof can be used. Particularly for the internal electrode of a multilayer ceramic capacitor having a large number of stacked electrodes for the purpose of increasing the capacity, among these, it is preferable to use nickel or copper powder, which is advantageous in terms of cost.

  The particle diameter of the conductive powder is not particularly limited, but the average particle diameter of these metal powders is preferably 0.05 μm or more and 1.0 μm or less for use as an internal electrode of a multilayer ceramic capacitor with high lamination and high capacity. This average particle diameter is a value obtained from a scanning electron microscope (FE-SEM) photograph. If the average particle size exceeds 1.0 μm, it is difficult to make the multilayer ceramic capacitor thinner. On the other hand, when the average particle size is less than 0.05 μm, the surface activity of the metal powder becomes too high, and proper viscosity characteristics cannot be obtained, or the conductive paste may be deteriorated during long-term storage.

  It is preferable that the content rate of the electroconductive powder in an electroconductive paste shall be 30 to 70 mass% with respect to the paste whole quantity. If the content is less than 30% by mass, the ability to form an electrode film is low during firing, and it is difficult to obtain a predetermined capacitor capacity. If it exceeds 70% by mass, it is difficult to make the electrode film thinner. As for the content rate of electroconductive powder, it is more preferable to set it as 40 to 60 mass% with respect to paste whole quantity.

2. Organic resin (B)
In the present invention, the organic resin is preferably a mixed system of ethyl cellulose (EC) and polyvinyl butyral (PVB).
Ethyl cellulose (EC) is generally used as a binder for conductive pastes because of its good solubility in solvents, printability, and combustion decomposability. By using not only ethyl cellulose (EC) but also polyvinyl butyral (PVB) used for a green sheet, the adhesion strength between the green sheet film and the conductive paste dry film can be increased.
Moreover, in order to obtain a paste having a viscosity suitable for gravure printing, the polymerization degree of polyvinyl butyral (PVB) is in the range of 10,000 to 50000, and the weight average molecular weight of ethyl cellulose (EC) is in the range of 10,000 to 100,000. Is preferred. When the solid content concentration in the paste is the same, the viscosity of the high shear rate region applied to the paste during gravure printing is mainly affected by the degree of polymerization of the resin and the molecular weight. Therefore, if a resin having a degree of polymerization higher than the range of the above-mentioned degree of polymerization (molecular weight) is used, the viscosity becomes too high, causing problems such as blurring at the time of printing. Becomes too low and causes problems such as blurring during printing.
The viscosity suitable for gravure printing is suitably 0.05 Pa · s or more and 0.3 Pa · s or less at a shear rate of 10,000 s ⁻¹ by a rheometer.

The content of the organic resin with respect to the total amount of the conductive paste is preferably 1% by mass or more and 5% by mass or less. If it is less than 1% by mass, the strength of the dry film is reduced, or the adhesion between the electrode pattern portion of the paste and the dielectric sheet is deteriorated during lamination, and the film is easily peeled off. On the other hand, when it exceeds 5% by mass, the binder removal property is deteriorated due to an increase in the resin content, which is not preferable.
These ethyl cellulose resin and polyvinyl butyral resin are dissolved in the following solvent according to the present invention to obtain an organic vehicle.

3. Organic solvent (C)
In the present invention, the organic solvent is an essential component of the organic vehicle having a function of dissolving the ethyl cellulose resin and the polyvinyl butyral resin, but it must be able to avoid sheet attack when printed on a dielectric green sheet. The sheet attack occurs because the organic solvent in the internal electrode paste dissolves the polyvinyl butyral resin used in the dielectric green sheet when the internal electrode paste contacts the dielectric green sheet.

Therefore, in the type of paste containing no polyvinyl butyral resin in the conductive paste, a solvent having almost no solubility in the organic binder of the dielectric green sheet and having solubility in the ethyl cellulose resin in the internal electrode paste is selected. .
However, in the present invention, since the polyvinyl butyral resin is contained in the conductive paste, the above method cannot be used.

Therefore, in the present invention, it has been found that a solvent having compatibility with polyvinyl butyral resin or ethyl cellulose resin and having better drying properties than the solvent used for screen printing is used as the organic solvent. By using an organic solvent that has better drying properties than the organic solvent used for screen printing, a sheet that has no problem in properties when conductive paste is printed on a dielectric green sheet containing polyvinyl butyral resin as an organic binder. It became possible to print without causing only an attack.
Here, the drying property suitable for gravure printing is preferably such that the loss on drying after drying at 120 ° C. for 15 minutes is 80% or more.
Moreover, in order to achieve said drying property, a drying rate is adjusted as follows. (1) Not only propylene glycol monobutyl ether (PNB),
(2) A mixture of propylene glycol monobutyl ether (PNB) and propylene glycol methyl ether acetate (PMA) or (3) a mixture of propylene glycol monobutyl ether (PNB) and mineral spirit (MS),
Thus, the drying speed can be adjusted.

FIG. 1 is a graph showing the results of thermogravimetric analysis of various solvents at 120 ° C., and shows the drying properties of these solvents. In the figure, curve a is propylene glycol methyl ether acetate (PMA), curve b is a 7: 3 mixture of propylene glycol monobutyl ether (PNB) and propylene glycol methyl ether acetate (PMA), and curve c is mineral spirit (MS ), Curve d is a 7: 3 mixture of propylene glycol monobutyl ether (PNB) and mineral spirit (MS), curve e is propylene glycol monobutyl ether (PNB), curve f is terpineol (TPO), curve g represents a 7: 3 mixture of terpineol (TPO) and No. 0 solvent M (No. 0 M), and curve h represents No. 0 solvent M (No. M).
The solvent alone has good drying properties in the order of PMA (curve a in FIG. 1), MS (curve c in FIG. 1), and PNB (curve e in FIG. 1). Therefore, by using a mixed solvent, the above (2) ( The drying properties are improved in the order of curves b), (3) (curve d) of FIG. 1, (1) (curve e) of (1) (FIG. 1), and the drying speed is appropriately adjusted. Can be obtained.
Further, the mixing ratio of propylene glycol monobutyl ether (PNB) and propylene glycol methyl ether acetate (PMA) can be adjusted as appropriate, but if the mixing ratio of PMA is too high, the drying rate is too fast, so the amount of volatilization during paste production is large, The composition shift with time of the solid component and the solvent component of the paste is likely to occur. The mixing ratio of propylene glycol monobutyl ether (PNB) and mineral spirit (MS) can be adjusted as appropriate, but if the mixing ratio of MS is too high, the compatibility deteriorates and aggregates are generated in the paste.

4). Additive (D)
In the prior art, a dispersant for preventing aggregation of powder has been used. In the present invention, a separation inhibitor is also used to suppress separation of the conductive powder and the dielectric powder.
Specifically, an additive having a composition containing a polycarboxylic acid polymer or a salt of polycarboxylic acid is used as the separation inhibitor (D-1).
Here, examples of the separation inhibitor containing a polycarboxylic acid polymer having a separation inhibitory effect include BYK-P104 and BYK-P105 manufactured by BYK-Chemie Corporation, and as a separation inhibitor containing a salt of polycarboxylic acid, BYK-Chemie Corporation. Examples thereof include ANTI-TERRA204 and ANTI-TERRA205.
The separation inhibitor commonly holds the distance between the conductive powder and the dielectric powder that are uniformly stirred initially by uniformly suppressing the dispersion of the powder particles in the paste by hydrogen bonding between carboxylic acids. I can do it.
Moreover, since the viscosity of the paste in a steady state (stationary state) can be increased by hydrogen bonding between carboxylic acids, it is possible to suppress separation due to the difference in specific gravity between the conductive powder and the dielectric powder. . In addition, since the bond strength of hydrogen bonds between carboxylic acids is weak, the bond can be cut only by applying a low shear rate force, so there is no change in the viscosity at a high shear rate, which is important in gravure printing. Therefore, it is effective as an additive for gravure printing.

However, when the separation inhibitor is used alone, the dispersibility of the paste as a whole deteriorates and aggregates of conductive powder and dielectric powder are generated. Therefore, various dispersants (D-2) must be blended for the purpose of improving the dispersibility of the conductive powder and the dielectric powder.
Examples of the dispersant (D-2) include a cationic dispersant and an anionic dispersant which are usually used in screen printing.

The amount of the additive relative to the total amount of the conductive paste is 0.4% by mass or more and 1.2% by mass or less, and the dispersing agent (D-2) is 0.1% by mass or more, with the separation inhibitor (D-1) being an active ingredient. 2.0 mass% or less is preferable. If the addition amount of the separation inhibitor is less than 0.4% by mass, the effect of suppressing the separation between the conductive powder and the dielectric powder cannot be obtained sufficiently, resulting in separation. When the separation occurs, the separation proceeds while the paste is accumulated in the tank during gravure printing, and the conductive powder and the dielectric powder have different concentrations at the upper and lower parts of the tank, and a uniform printed product cannot be obtained. When the content exceeds 1.2% by mass, the conductive powder and the dielectric powder are aggregated, which may cause a problem of dispersibility of the entire paste and influence on debinding.
Further, if the added amount of the dispersant is less than 0.1% by mass, the effect of improving the dispersibility of the paste is not sufficient, and even if the amount exceeds 2.0% by mass, the improvement of the dispersibility beyond a certain level is not observed. There is a possibility of affecting the binder removal.

5. Dielectric powder (E)
In the conductive paste for internal electrodes of a multilayer ceramic capacitor, an inorganic additive is blended for the purpose of matching the sintering shrinkage of the internal electrode with the sintering shrinkage behavior of the ceramic sheet during firing. Usually, the inorganic additive is also referred to as a co-material. For example, commercially available BaTiO ₃ , BaTi _x Zr _1-x O ₃ (x is 0.8), etc., and the same composition as the ceramic constituting the green sheet In addition, an appropriate amount of other inorganic oxides can be blended.
In the conductive paste of the present invention, the average particle size of the dielectric powder, for example, BaTiO ₃ is not particularly limited, but 0.01 μm or more and 0.0. 1 μm or less is preferable. The average particle diameter is obtained from a scanning electron microscope (FE-SEM) photograph. If the average particle diameter is out of this range, the resistance value after firing increases, or the capacitance of the multilayer capacitor formed by insufficient electrode film formation is obtained. It may not be possible.
The content of the dielectric powder is not particularly limited, but is preferably 1% by mass or more and 30% by mass or less in the paste. When the content is less than 1% by mass, a difference in sintering shrinkage occurs when the conductive paste and the dielectric sheet are simultaneously fired, and the sintered body is likely to crack, and the content is 30% by mass. When it exceeds, electrical conductivity will fall and an electrostatic capacity will no longer be obtained.

6). Production of Conductive Paste Hereinafter, a procedure for producing the conductive paste of the present invention will be described. The conductive paste of the present invention is prepared by first dissolving an organic resin in an organic solvent to prepare an organic vehicle, and then adding a conductive powder, an additive for a separation inhibitor or a dispersant, a dielectric powder, Disperse in vehicle.

  First is the production of an organic vehicle. Prepare ethyl cellulose and propylene glycol monobutyl ether. In a constant temperature bath where the solvent is heated to 50 to 60 ° C., ethyl cellulose is gradually added, followed by heating with stirring until the resin is dissolved. Here, a polyvinyl butyral vehicle can be produced in the same manner.

  Next, weigh out the specified amount of conductive powder, dielectric powder, and various organic vehicles that were prepared, add them to the mixer, add a predetermined amount of other additives, stir, and then add the conductive powder with a three-roll mill. The agent and dielectric powder are uniformly dispersed and mixed in the organic vehicle.

  When the composition in the paste is collectively described, the conductive powder is 30% by mass to 70% by mass with respect to the total amount of the paste, and the additive is 0.5% by mass to 3.2% by mass with respect to the total amount of the paste. The dielectric powder is preferably 1% by mass to 30% by mass with respect to the total amount of paste. Further, the resin in the organic vehicle is preferably 1% by mass or more and 5% by mass or less with respect to the total amount of the paste.

  As a result, the conductive paste of the present invention having a viscosity suitable for gravure printing, having no separation between the conductive powder and the dielectric powder, and having good drying properties can be obtained.

  EXAMPLES Hereinafter, examples and comparative examples of the present invention will be shown and described in detail, but the present invention is not limited by the following examples.

Resin that is considered to affect the properties of the conductive paste, which is the subject of this application, the viscosity suitable for gravure printing, the drying property to increase productivity, and the suppression of separation between conductive powder and dielectric powder that maintain print quality The criteria for selection, selection of solvent, and selection of separation inhibitor are as described above, but the validity of the determination was confirmed by Examples and Comparative Examples below.
Production of the conductive paste was carried out according to the outline described in the production of the conductive paste described above, and the viscosity, drying property, and separation property were evaluated as paste evaluation. The evaluation results are shown in Table 1.
Here, in Table 1, ethyl cellulose is expressed as EC, polyvinyl butyral as PVB, propylene glycol monobutyl ether as PNB, propylene glycol methyl ether acetate as PMA, mineral spirit as MS, terpineol as TPO, and 0 solvent M as 0 M. .
Moreover, the paste composition and characteristic evaluation which were used by the Example and the comparative example are demonstrated below.

(1) Paste composition As the conductive powder (A), 50.0% by mass of Ni spherical powder having an average particle size of 0.3 μm was used, and ethyl cellulose (degree of polymerization: 40000) and polyvinyl butyral (weight) as the organic resin (B). Average molecular weight: 20000) mixed at a ratio of 1: 1, 2.5% by mass, and among the additives (D), as a separation inhibitor (D-1), BYK-P105 was added to the total amount of the paste by 0.00. 4% by mass, of the additive (D), 0.8% by mass (0.2% by mass and 0.6% by mass, respectively) DISPERBYK-102 and oleylamine as the dispersant (D-2), dielectric powder (E ), 12.5% by mass of spherical powder of BaTiO ₃ having an average particle size of 70 nm, with the remainder being propylene glycol monobutyl ether (PNB) and mineral spirit (MS) as organic solvent (C) A sample prepared by adding a mixture of 7: 3 at a ratio of 7: 3 was tested. A list of paste components is shown in Table 1.

(2) Viscosity measurement The viscosity of the paste is measured in order to continuously measure the viscosity from a low shear rate to a high shear rate (rheometer is MCR301 manufactured by Anton Paar or AR-G2 manufactured by TA Instruments). It was performed using. When the shear rate was 10,000 s ⁻¹ , the viscosity was determined to be ◯, the viscosity of 0.05 Pa · s to 0.3 Pa · s being less than 0.05 Pa · s, and the viscosity exceeding 0.3 Pa · s to be Δ.

(3) Measurement of drying property Drying property measured the drying speed when drying at 120 degreeC with TG-DTA (a measuring device is TG / DTA6300 by SII nanotechnology Co., Ltd.).
Based on the screen printing paste using TPO and No. 0 M as the solvent, the paste having a faster drying speed than the screen printing paste was evaluated as ◯, and the paste having the drying speed equivalent to the screen printing paste was determined as Δ.

(4) Evaluation of separability In the separability, the paste sample was left in a glass bottle for 1 day, and it was visually confirmed whether or not there was separation of the conductive powder and the dielectric powder. The state where the separation of the dielectric powder could not be confirmed (no white supernatant portion was present) was judged as ◯, and the state where the separation of the dielectric powder could be confirmed (the white supernatant portion was present) was judged as x.
Table 1 summarizes the evaluation results of the viscosity, drying property and separation property of Example 1.

  Sample as in Example 1 except that 1.2% of ANTI-TERRA-205 was used instead of BYK-P-105 as the separation inhibitor (D-1) of the additive (D) Were made and evaluated.

  A sample was prepared in the same manner as in Example 1 except that ethyl cellulose (EC) having a polymerization degree of 100,000 was used instead of the organic resin (B) having a polymerization degree of 40,000 ethyl cellulose (EC). evaluated.

  A sample was prepared in the same manner as in Example 1 except that polyvinyl butyral (PVB) having an average molecular weight of 40000 was used instead of the organic resin (B) having an average molecular weight of 20000. And evaluated.

  Implemented except that propylene glycol monobutyl ether (PNB) and mineral spirit (MS) mixed in a ratio of 7: 3 were used instead of propylene glycol monobutyl ether (PNB) instead of organic solvent (C). Samples were prepared and evaluated in the same manner as in Example 1.

  Instead of using a mixture of propylene glycol monobutyl ether (PNB) and mineral spirit (MS) in a ratio of 7: 3 among organic solvents (C), propylene glycol monobutyl ether (PNB) and propylene glycol methyl ether acetate (PMA) ) Was prepared and evaluated in the same manner as in Example 1 except that a mixture of 7: 3 was used.

  Sample as in Example 1 except that 1.2% of ANTI-TERRA-204 was used instead of BYK-P-105 as the separation inhibitor (D-1) of the additive (D). Were made and evaluated.

  A sample was prepared and evaluated in the same manner as in Example 1 except that oleic acid was used as the dispersant (D-2) in the additive (D) instead of using DISPERBYK-102.

(Comparative Examples 1 and 2)
In Example 1, 0.4% by mass of BYK-P-105 was used as the separation inhibitor (D-1) of the additive (D) with respect to the total amount of the paste, whereas in Comparative Example 1, the amount was 0.001. Only 2% by mass was used. Other than that, samples were prepared and evaluated in the same manner as in Example 1.
Further, in Example 2, 1.2% of ANTI-TERRA-205 was used as the separation inhibitor (D-1) in the additive (D), whereas in Comparative Example 2, 0.2% by mass was used. A sample was prepared in the same manner as in Example 2 except that the sample was used. In this way, the separability of the powder was evaluated.

(Comparative Examples 3 and 4)
In Example 1, a solvent in which PNB and MS were mixed at a mass ratio of 7: 3 was used as the solvent, whereas in Comparative Example 3, terpineol (TPO) and No. 0 Solvent M (No. 0 M) were used at 7: 3. A sample was prepared and evaluated in the same manner as in Example 1 except that a solvent mixed at a mass ratio of was used.
In Example 1, 2.5% by mass of a mixture of ethyl cellulose (EC) having a polymerization degree of 40000 and polyvinyl butyral (PVB) having an average molecular weight of 20000 in a 1: 1 ratio was used as the organic resin (B). On the other hand, Comparative Example 4 was the same as Example 1 except that the organic resin (B) was a mixture of ethyl cellulose (EC) having a polymerization degree of 135000 and polyvinyl butyral (PVB) having an average molecular weight of 52000. A sample was prepared. Thus, the viscosity of the paste and the drying property of the paste were compared.
Table 1 summarizes the paste compositions and evaluation results of Examples 2 to 8 and Comparative Examples 1 to 4.

In these tests, regarding the degree of polymerization and the weight average molecular weight of ethyl cellulose and polyvinyl butyral used as resins, in Examples 1, 2, and Comparative Examples 1, 2, and 3, ethyl cellulose having a weight average molecular weight of 40000 and the degree of polymerization were Whereas 20000 polyvinyl butyral was mixed, in Comparative Example 4, a mixture of ethyl cellulose having a weight average molecular weight of 135000 and polyvinyl butyral having a polymerization degree of 52000 was employed, and the viscosity of the paste was compared.
Regarding the type of solvent, in Examples 1, 2, and Comparative Examples 1, 2, and 4, a solvent in which PNB and MS were mixed at a mass ratio of 7: 3 was used, whereas in Comparative Example 3, TPO and The thing using the solvent which mixed No. 0 M by the mass ratio of 7: 3 was employ | adopted, and the drying property of the paste was compared.

As can be seen from the evaluation results shown in Table 1, Examples 1 and 2 and Comparative Examples 1, 2 and 3 in which ethyl cellulose having a weight average molecular weight of 40,000 and polyvinyl butyral having a polymerization degree of 20000 are mixed are used for gravure printing. A suitable good viscosity is obtained, but in Comparative Example 4 in which ethyl cellulose having a weight average molecular weight of 135,000 and polyvinyl butyral having a polymerization degree of 52,000 are mixed, the degree of polymerization and the molecular weight are large, so that the share rate is 10,000 s ⁻¹ . The viscosity was higher than 0.3 Pa · s and deviated from the optimum viscosity for gravure printing.

  In Examples 1 and 2, and Comparative Examples 1, 2 and 4 using a solvent in which PNB and MS were mixed at a mass ratio of 7: 3, the drying rate was faster than the paste used for screen printing, but TPO and No. 0 were used. In Comparative Example 3 using a solvent in which M was mixed at a mass ratio of 7: 3, the drying speed of the solvent was slower than that of PNB, MS, and PMA, and thus the drying speed was equivalent to the paste used for screen printing. .

  As shown in Fig. 1 and Table 1, TPO, 0M, or TPO and 0M mixed in a 7: 3 mass ratio used for conductive paste for screen printing is completely dried at 120 ° C for 30 minutes. It can be seen that it has not evaporated. However, it can be seen that the PNB selected this time is completely evaporated in about 13 minutes at 120 ° C. and has good drying properties. Also, a solvent in which PNB and MSA are mixed at a mass ratio of 7: 3 and a solvent in which PNB and PMA are mixed at a mass ratio of 7: 3 can further increase the drying speed than PNB. It can be seen that the drying speed can be adjusted more than when used alone.

Regarding the suppression of separation between the conductive powder and the dielectric powder, Example 1 and Comparative Examples 3 and 4 use BYK-P105 in a mass ratio of 0.4% with respect to the total amount of paste, and Example 2 uses ANT1-TERRA-205. While 1.2% was used, Comparative Examples 1 and 2 were compared using 0.2% BYK-P105 and 0.2% ANTI-TERRA-205, respectively.
In Examples 1 and 2 and Comparative Examples 3 and 4 in which the addition amount of the separation inhibitor is 0.4% by mass or more and 1.2% by mass or less, separation of the conductive powder and the dielectric powder does not occur, and the paste is stable. In Comparative Examples 1 and 2 where the addition amount of the separation inhibitor is 0.2% by mass, the effect of the separation inhibitor is insufficient, and the conductive powder and the dielectric powder are separated. Generated and the result was that the paste was poorly stable.

  FIG. 2 shows an example of the paste (a) of Comparative Example 1 with separation of powder particles and the paste of Example 1 without separation (b). In the paste with separation of FIG. 2 (a), a white portion can be confirmed as a whole, and the separation of the white dielectric can be confirmed as a supernatant portion at the top. The paste without separation of FIG. Separation of conductive powder and dielectric powder is not confirmed.

  The present invention is a technique that can be widely applied not only to conductive pastes but also to gravure printing compositions containing powder particles.

Curve a: Propylene glycol methyl ether acetate (PMA)
Curve b: 7: 3 mixture of propylene glycol monobutyl ether (PNB) and propylene glycol methyl ether acetate (PMA) Curve c: Mineral spirit (MS)
Curve d: 7: 3 mixture of propylene glycol monobutyl ether (PNB) and mineral spirit (MS) Curve e: Propylene glycol monobutyl ether (PNB)
Curve f: Turpineol (TPO)
Curve g: 7: 3 mixture of terpineol (TPO) and No. 0 solvent M (No. 0 M) Curve h: No. 0 solvent M (No. 0 M)

Claims (9)

  A conductive paste for an internal electrode of a multilayer ceramic capacitor comprising a conductive powder (A), an organic resin (B), an organic solvent (C), an additive (D), and a dielectric powder (E), wherein the organic resin (B) is composed of polyvinyl butyral having a degree of polymerization of 10,000 to 50,000 and ethyl cellulose having a weight average molecular weight of 10,000 to 100,000, and the organic solvent (C) is propylene glycol monobutyl ether, or propylene glycol monobutyl ether and propylene glycol methyl ether. It consists of either a mixed solvent of acetate or a mixed solvent of propylene glycol monobutyl ether and mineral spirit, and additive (D) consists of a separation inhibitor and a dispersant, and the separation inhibitor is a polycarboxylic acid polymer or polycarboxylic acid The salt Gravure printing conductive paste characterized by comprising the free composition.   2. The conductive paste for gravure printing according to claim 1, wherein the content of the conductive powder (A) is 30% by mass or more and 70% by mass or less with respect to the total amount of the paste.   The conductive paste for gravure printing according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the content of the organic resin (B) with respect to the entire conductive paste is 1% by mass or more and 5% by mass or less. The content of the separation inhibitor in the additive (D) is 0.4% by mass or more and 1.2% by mass or less based on the total amount of the conductive paste. The conductive paste for gravure printing as described.   The content rate of the dispersing agent in the said additive (D) is 0.1 mass% or more and 2.0 mass% or less with respect to paste whole quantity, The any one of Claims 1-4 characterized by the above-mentioned. The conductive paste for gravure printing as described in the item.   The conductive paste for gravure printing according to any one of claims 1 to 6, wherein the dielectric powder (E) is BaTiO3.   7. The gravure printing according to claim 1, wherein the content of the dielectric powder (E) is 1% by mass to 30% by mass with respect to the total amount of the paste. Conductive paste.   The conductive paste for gravure printing according to any one of claims 1 to 7, wherein the viscosity at normal temperature is 0.05 Pa · s or more and 0.3 Pa · s or less.   The conductive paste for gravure printing according to any one of claims 1 to 8, wherein the heat loss at 120 ° C for 10 minutes has a drying rate of 50% or more.