JP2024110014A - Conductive Substrate - Google Patents

Abstract

To provide a conductive substrate which exhibits excellent performance of inhibiting migration between conductive thin wires, while having excellent light resistance.SOLUTION: A conductive substrate comprises a base material, and conductive thin wires that are arranged on the base material and contain metal. The conductive substrate contains at least one specific compound that is selected from the group consisting of compounds represented by formula (1), compounds represented by formula (2), and compounds represented by formula (3) and proton tautomers thereof.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

The present invention relates to a conductive substrate.

Conductive substrates having conductive fine wires (fine wires that exhibit conductivity) are widely used for various applications such as touch panels, solar cells, and EL (electroluminescence) elements. In particular, in recent years, the rate at which touch panels are installed in mobile phones and portable game devices has increased, and the demand for conductive substrates for capacitive touch panels capable of multi-point detection has rapidly expanded.

As a technique for preventing deterioration of conductive thin wires in a conductive substrate, for example, Patent Document 1 discloses a technique for further adding a light stabilizer or rust inhibitor to the adhesive layer in a pattern electrode sheet formed from a transparent conductive film having a metal conductive pattern containing a silver nanomaterial on a transparent film substrate, and a transparent acrylic adhesive containing an ultraviolet absorber laminated on the surface of the transparent conductive film on the side of the metal conductive pattern.

Patent No. 6357012

In recent years, there has been a demand for thinner conductive thin wires, but there is a problem in that metal conductive patterns formed using such thin conductive wires are more susceptible to migration. If migration occurs between the conductive thin wires, the conductive thin wires become conductive and the circuit function is no longer fulfilled, so there is a demand for conductive substrates with improved migration suppression performance.
The present inventors have found that the technique of laminating a member containing a specific component onto a conductive substrate as described in Patent Document 1 does not provide sufficient migration suppression performance.
Furthermore, since the conductive substrate having the conductive thin wires is used for various optical components as described above, it is also required to have excellent light resistance.

In view of the above-mentioned circumstances, the present invention aims to provide a conductive substrate that has excellent performance in suppressing migration between conductive fine wires and excellent light resistance.

As a result of thorough investigation into the above-mentioned problems, the inventors have discovered that the above-mentioned problems can be solved by the following configuration.

[1]
A conductive substrate having a base material and a conductive thin wire containing a metal disposed on the base material, the conductive substrate containing at least one specific compound selected from the group consisting of a compound represented by formula (1) described below, a compound represented by formula (2) described below, and a compound represented by formula (3) described below and a proton tautomer thereof.
[2]
In the formulas (1) and (2), R ¹ and R ² each independently represent an alkyl group having 1 to 5 carbon atoms which may have a substituent selected from the group consisting of a phenyl group and a hydroxy group, and the nitrogen-containing heterocycle formed by bonding R ¹ and R ² to each other is a nitrogen-containing non-aromatic heterocycle having 5 to 7 ring members which may have a methyl group or an ethyl group. The conductive substrate according to [1].
[3]
The conductive substrate according to [1] or [2], wherein the organic group represented by A in formula (1) is a group represented by formula (4) described below.
[4]
The conductive substrate according to any one of [1] to [3], wherein in formula (1), R ¹ and R ² each independently represent a methyl group or an ethyl group, or are bonded to each other to form a 1-pyrrolidine ring or a 1-piperidine ring together with the nitrogen atom, and A represents a hydrogen atom, a methyl group, an ethyl group, a carboxymethyl group, a benzyl group, a dimethylthiocarbamoyl group, a dimethylthiocarbamoyl sulfide group, a diethylthiocarbamoyl group, or a diethylthiocarbamoyl sulfide group.
[5]
In the formula (2), n represents 1, and X ⁿ⁺ represents a hydrogen ion, a metal ion, or an ammonium ion which may have an aliphatic hydrocarbon group. The conductive substrate according to any one of [1] to [4].
[6]
In the formula (2), R ¹ and R ² each independently represent a methyl group or an ethyl group, or are bonded to each other to form a 1-pyrrolidine ring or a 1-piperidine ring together with the nitrogen atom, X ⁿ⁺ represents a hydrogen ion, a sodium ion, an ammonium ion, a dimethylammonium ion, a diethylammonium ion, or a piperidinium ion, and n represents 1. The conductive substrate according to any one of [1] to [5].
[7]
The conductive substrate according to any one of [1] to [6], wherein in formula (3), R ³ to R ⁶ each independently represent a hydrogen atom, an alkyl group having 1 to 5 carbon atoms, an alkylcarbonyl group having 1 to 5 carbon atoms, a phenyl group, a benzyl group, or a cyclohexyl group; when R ⁴ and R ⁵ are bonded to each other to form the nitrogen-containing heterocycle, the nitrogen-containing heterocycle is an imidazoline ring or imidazolidine ring which may have a methyl group or an ethyl group as a substituent, or a benzoimidazoline ring which may have a methyl group, an ethyl group, a methoxy group, or an amino group as a substituent; and at least one of R ³ and R ⁶ represents a hydrogen atom.
[8]
The conductive substrate according to any one of [1] to [7], wherein in formula (3), 1 to 3 of R ³ to R ⁶ represent a hydrogen atom, the remaining of R ³ to R ⁶ represent an alkyl group having 1 to 5 carbon atoms, an acetyl group, or a phenyl group, and R ⁴ and R ⁵ are not bonded to each other.
[9]
The conductive substrate according to any one of [1] to [8], wherein the specific compound is contained in at least one of the conductive thin wires and non-conductive portions arranged between a plurality of the conductive thin wires on the surface of the conductive substrate.
[10]
The conductive substrate according to any one of [1] to [9], wherein the specific compound is contained in the conductive thin wire.
[11]
The conductive substrate according to any one of [1] to [10], wherein the metal comprises silver.
[12]
The conductive substrate according to any one of [1] to [11], having a mesh pattern formed by the conductive thin wires.

The present invention provides a conductive substrate that has excellent migration suppression performance between conductive fine wires and excellent light resistance.

FIG. 1 is a schematic perspective view showing an example of a configuration of a conductive substrate of the present invention. FIG. 2 is a plan view showing an example of a mesh pattern formed by conductive thin wires of the conductive substrate of the present invention.

The conductive substrate of the present invention will be described in detail below with reference to the drawings.
The following description of the components is based on a representative embodiment of the present invention, and the present invention is not limited to such an embodiment. Also, the drawings shown below are illustrative for explaining the present invention, and the present invention is not limited by the drawings shown below.
In this specification, a numerical range expressed using "to" means a range that includes the numerical values before and after "to" as the lower and upper limits.
In this specification, when two or more types of a component are present, the "content" of the component means the total content of those two or more components.
In this specification, "g" and "mg" represent "g mass" and "mg mass", respectively.
In this specification, the term "polymer" or "polymer compound" refers to a compound having a weight average molecular weight of 2000 or more. Here, the weight average molecular weight is defined as a polystyrene equivalent value measured by GPC (Gel Permeation Chromatography).
In this specification, angles expressed by specific numerical values and expressions relating to angles such as "parallel,""perpendicular," and "orthogonal" include error ranges generally accepted in the relevant technical field, unless otherwise specified.
As used herein, an "organic group" refers to a group containing at least one carbon atom.

[Conductive Substrate]
The conductive substrate according to the present invention includes a base material and a conductive thin wire that is disposed on the base material and contains a specific compound described below.
FIG. 1 is a schematic perspective view showing an example of the configuration of a conductive substrate according to the present invention.
The conductive substrate 10 shown in Fig. 1 has a base material 12 and conductive thin wires 14 arranged on a surface 12a of the base material 12. Note that, although two conductive thin wires 14 extending in one direction are shown in Fig. 1, the arrangement of the conductive thin wires 14 and the number thereof are not particularly limited.

[Substrate]
The type of substrate is not particularly limited as long as it is a member capable of supporting the photosensitive layer and the conductive thin wires. Examples of the substrate include a plastic substrate, a glass substrate, and a metal substrate, with a plastic substrate being preferred.
The substrate is preferably a flexible substrate in that the conductive member to be obtained has excellent foldability. Examples of the flexible substrate include the above-mentioned plastic substrates.
The thickness of the substrate is not particularly limited and is often 25 to 500 μm. When the conductive substrate is applied to a touch panel and the substrate surface is used as a touch surface, the thickness of the substrate may exceed 500 μm.

As materials constituting the substrate, resins with a melting point of about 290°C or less, such as polyethylene terephthalate (PET) (258°C), polycycloolefin (134°C), polycarbonate (250°C), acrylic film (128°C), polyethylene naphthalate (269°C), polyethylene (135°C), polypropylene (163°C), polystyrene (230°C), polyvinyl chloride (180°C), polyvinylidene chloride (212°C), and triacetyl cellulose (290°C), are preferred, with PET, polycycloolefin, or polycarbonate being more preferred. Of these, PET is particularly preferred due to its excellent adhesion to the conductive thin wires. The numbers in parentheses above are melting points or glass transition temperatures.
The total light transmittance of the substrate is preferably 85 to 100%. The total light transmittance is measured according to "Plastics - Determination of total light transmittance and total light reflectance" as specified in JIS (Japanese Industrial Standards) K 7375:2008.

A primer layer may be disposed on the surface of the substrate.
The undercoat layer preferably contains a specific polymer, which will be described later. Use of this undercoat layer further improves the adhesion of the conductive thin wire, which will be described later, to the substrate.
The method of forming the undercoat layer is not particularly limited, and for example, a method of applying a composition for forming an undercoat layer containing a specific polymer described later onto a substrate and performing a heat treatment as necessary can be mentioned. The composition for forming an undercoat layer may contain a solvent as necessary. The type of the solvent is not particularly limited, and examples thereof include the solvents used in the composition for forming a photosensitive layer described later. In addition, a latex containing particles of a specific polymer may be used as the composition for forming an undercoat layer containing a specific polymer.
The thickness of the undercoat layer is not particularly limited, but is preferably from 0.02 to 0.3 μm, and more preferably from 0.03 to 0.2 μm, in that the adhesiveness of the conductive layer to the substrate is superior.

[Conductive thin wire]
The conductive thin wires containing a metal are disposed on the surface of the base material. The conductive thin wires are a portion that ensures the conductive properties of the conductive substrate by containing a metal.
As the metal, a mixture of one or more metals selected from the group consisting of silver (metallic silver), copper (metallic copper), gold (metallic gold), nickel (metallic nickel) and palladium (metallic palladium) is preferable, as these have superior conductive properties, and simple silver or a mixture of silver and copper is more preferable, with simple silver being even more preferable.

In this specification, the conductive thin wire refers to a thin line-shaped region that is disposed on the surface of the substrate and is integrally formed of a material containing a metal. For example, the silver halide-free layer formed in step H described below and the protective layer formed in step I described below constitute the conductive thin wire together with the thin line-shaped silver-containing layer formed in steps A and B described below.
In addition, the conductive thin wires arranged on the surface of the base material may or may not be electrically connected to a member external to the conductive substrate, and a part of the conductive thin wires may be a dummy electrode electrically insulated from the outside.

The metal contained in the conductive thin wire is usually in the form of solid particles. The average particle diameter of the metal is preferably 10 to 1000 nm, more preferably 10 to 200 nm, in terms of the equivalent sphere diameter. The equivalent sphere diameter is the diameter of a spherical particle having the same volume, and the average particle diameter of metal particles is obtained by measuring the equivalent sphere diameters of 100 objects and arithmetically averaging them.
The shape of the metal particles is not particularly limited, and examples thereof include spherical, cubic, tabular, octahedral, tetradecahedral, etc. The metal particles may be bonded in part or entirely by fusion.
The conductive thin wire may have a structure in which a plurality of metals are dispersed in a polymer compound described later, or metal particles may be aggregated in the polymer compound to exist as aggregates. Also, at least some of the plurality of metals contained in the conductive thin wire may be bonded to each other by a metal derived from metal ions used in a plating process described later.
The metal content in the conductive thin wires is not particularly limited, and is preferably 3.0 to 20.0 g/ ^m2 , and more preferably 5.0 to 15.0 g/ ^m2 , in that the conductive substrate has better conductivity.

The conductive thin wire may contain a polymer compound in addition to a metal.
The type of polymer compound contained in the conductive thin wire is not particularly limited, and any known polymer compound can be used. Among them, a polymer compound other than gelatin (hereinafter also referred to as a "specific polymer") is preferred in that it can form a silver-containing layer and a conductive thin wire having superior strength.
The type of the specific polymer is not particularly limited as long as it is different from gelatin, and a polymer that is not decomposed by protease or oxidizing agent that decomposes gelatin, which will be described later, is preferable.
The specific polymer may be a hydrophobic polymer (a water-insoluble polymer), such as at least one resin selected from the group consisting of (meth)acrylic resins, styrene resins, vinyl resins, polyolefin resins, polyester resins, polyurethane resins, polyamide resins, polycarbonate resins, polydiene resins, epoxy resins, silicone resins, cellulose polymers, and chitosan polymers, or a copolymer consisting of monomers constituting these resins.
In addition, the specific polymer preferably has a reactive group that reacts with a crosslinking agent described below.
The specific polymer is preferably in the form of particles, that is, the conductive thin wire preferably contains particles of the specific polymer.

The specific polymer is preferably a polymer (copolymer) represented by the following general formula (1).
General formula (1): -(A) _x -(B) _y -(C) _z -(D) _w -
In addition, in the general formula (1), A, B, C, and D represent repeating units represented by the following general formulas (A) to (D), respectively.

R ¹¹ represents a methyl group or a halogen atom, and is preferably a methyl group, a chlorine atom, or a bromine atom. p represents an integer of 0 to 2, preferably 0 or 1, and more preferably 0.
R ¹² represents a methyl group or an ethyl group, and is preferably a methyl group.
R ¹³ represents a hydrogen atom or a methyl group, and preferably a hydrogen atom. L represents a divalent linking group, and preferably a group represented by the following formula (2).
General formula (2): -(CO-X ¹ ) r-X ² -
In general formula (2), X ¹ represents an oxygen atom or -NR ³⁰ -. Here, R ³⁰ represents a hydrogen atom, an alkyl group, an aryl group, or an acyl group, each of which may have a substituent (e.g., a halogen atom, a nitro group, and a hydroxyl group). R ³⁰ is preferably a hydrogen atom, an alkyl group having 1 to 10 carbon atoms (e.g., a methyl group, an ethyl group, an n-butyl group, and an n-octyl group), or an acyl group (e.g., an acetyl group and a benzoyl group). ^{X 1} is preferably an oxygen atom or -NH-.
^X2 represents an alkylene group, an arylene group, an alkylenearylene group, an arylenealkylene group, or an alkylenearylenealkylene group, and these groups may have -O-, -S-, -CO-, -COO-, -NH-, -SO ₂ -, -N(R ³¹ )-, or -N(R ³¹ )SO ₂ - or the like inserted therein. R ³¹ represents a linear or branched alkyl group having 1 to 6 carbon atoms. ^X2 is preferably a dimethylene group, a trimethylene group, a tetramethylene group, an o-phenylene group, an m-phenylene group, a p-phenylene group, -CH ₂ CH ₂ OCOCH ₂ CH ₂ -, or -CH ₂ CH ₂ OCO(C ₆ H ₄ )-.
r represents 0 or 1.
q represents 0 or 1, with 0 being preferred.

R ¹⁴ represents an alkyl group, an alkenyl group, or an alkynyl group, preferably an alkyl group having 5 to 50 carbon atoms, more preferably an alkyl group having 5 to 30 carbon atoms, and further preferably an alkyl group having 5 to 20 carbon atoms.
R ¹⁵ represents a hydrogen atom, a methyl group, an ethyl group, a halogen atom or —CH ₂ COOR ¹⁶ , preferably a hydrogen atom, a methyl group, a halogen atom or —CH ₂ COOR ¹⁶ , more preferably a hydrogen atom, a methyl group or —CH ₂ COOR ¹⁶ , and even more preferably a hydrogen atom.
R ¹⁶ represents a hydrogen atom or an alkyl group having 1 to 80 carbon atoms, and may be the same as or different from R ^14. R ¹⁶ preferably has 1 to 70 carbon atoms, and more preferably has 1 to 60 carbon atoms.

In formula (1), x, y, z, and w represent the molar ratios of each repeating unit.
x is from 3 to 60 mol %, preferably from 3 to 50 mol %, and more preferably from 3 to 40 mol %.
y is from 30 to 96 mol %, preferably from 35 to 95 mol %, and more preferably from 40 to 90 mol %.
z is from 0.5 to 25 mol %, preferably from 0.5 to 20 mol %, and more preferably from 1 to 20 mol %.
w is from 0.5 to 40 mol %, preferably from 0.5 to 30 mol %.
In the general formula (1), it is preferable that x is 3 to 40 mol %, y is 40 to 90 mol %, z is 0.5 to 20 mol %, and w is 0.5 to 10 mol %.

As the polymer represented by general formula (1), a polymer represented by the following general formula (2) is preferred.

In general formula (2), x, y, z, and w are as defined above.

The polymer represented by the general formula (1) may contain repeating units other than the repeating units represented by the above general formulae (A) to (D).
Examples of monomers for forming other repeating units include acrylic acid esters, methacrylic acid esters, vinyl esters, olefins, crotonates, itaconic acid diesters, maleic acid diesters, fumaric acid diesters, acrylamides, unsaturated carboxylic acids, allyl compounds, vinyl ethers, vinyl ketones, vinyl heterocyclic compounds, glycidyl esters, and unsaturated nitriles. These monomers are also described in paragraphs 0010 to 0022 of Japanese Patent No. 3754745. From the viewpoint of hydrophobicity, acrylic acid esters or methacrylic acid esters are preferred, and hydroxyalkyl methacrylate or hydroxyalkyl acrylate is more preferred.
The polymer represented by general formula (1) preferably contains a repeating unit represented by general formula (E).

In the above formula, L _E represents an alkylene group, preferably an alkylene group having 1 to 10 carbon atoms, more preferably an alkylene group having 2 to 6 carbon atoms, and even more preferably an alkylene group having 2 to 4 carbon atoms.

As the polymer represented by general formula (1), the polymer represented by the following general formula (3) is particularly preferred.

In the above formula, a1, b1, c1, d1, and e1 represent the molar ratio of each repeating unit, where a1 represents 3 to 60 (mol%), b1 represents 30 to 95 (mol%), c1 represents 0.5 to 25 (mol%), d1 represents 0.5 to 40 (mol%), and e1 represents 1 to 10 (mol%).
The preferred range of a1 is the same as the preferred range of x described above, the preferred range of b1 is the same as the preferred range of y described above, the preferred range of c1 is the same as the preferred range of z described above, and the preferred range of d1 is the same as the preferred range of w described above.
e1 is from 1 to 10 mol %, preferably from 2 to 9 mol %, and more preferably from 2 to 8 mol %.

The specific polymer can be synthesized by referring to, for example, Japanese Patent No. 3,305,459 and Japanese Patent No. 3,754,745.
The weight average molecular weight of the specific polymer is not particularly limited, but is preferably from 1,000 to 1,000,000, more preferably from 2,000 to 750,000, and even more preferably from 3,000 to 500,000.

The conductive thin wires may contain materials other than the above-mentioned materials as necessary.
Examples of the additives include antistatic agents, nucleation accelerators, spectral sensitizing dyes, surfactants, antifoggants, hardeners, anti-black spot agents, redox compounds, monomethine compounds, and dihydroxybenzenes, as described in paragraphs 0220 to 0241 of JP-A-2009-004348. Furthermore, the photosensitive layer may contain physical development nuclei.
The conductive thin wire may also contain a crosslinking agent used for crosslinking the specific polymers described above. By containing the crosslinking agent, crosslinking between the specific polymers progresses, and the connection between the metals in the conductive thin wire is maintained.

The line width Wa of the conductive thin wire is preferably less than 5.0 μm, more preferably 2.5 μm or less, and even more preferably 2.0 μm or less, from the viewpoint that the conductive thin wire is difficult to visually recognize. The lower limit is not particularly limited, but is preferably 0.5 μm or more, more preferably 1.2 μm or more, from the viewpoint that the conductivity of the conductive thin wire is better. The line width of the conductive thin wire means the total length of the conductive thin wire in the direction perpendicular to the direction in which the conductive thin wire extends, among the directions along the surface of the substrate.
The line width Wa of the above-mentioned conductive thin wire is determined by using a scanning electron microscope to arbitrarily select five points equivalent to the line width of one conductive thin wire, and the arithmetic average value equivalent to the line width of the five points is defined as the line width Wa.

The thickness T of the conductive thin wire is not particularly limited, but is preferably 0.5 to 3.0 μm, and more preferably 1.0 to 2.0 μm.
The thickness T of the above-mentioned conductive thin wire is determined by using a scanning electron microscope to arbitrarily select five points corresponding to the thickness of a single conductive thin wire, and the arithmetic average value of the five thicknesses is determined as the thickness T.

The line resistance of the conductive thin wire is preferably less than 200 Ω/mm, more preferably less than 100 Ω/mm, and even more preferably less than 60 Ω/mm, from the viewpoint of operability when used as a touch panel.
The linear resistance value is obtained by dividing the resistance value measured by the four-probe method by the distance between the measurement terminals. More specifically, after cutting both ends of any one conductive thin wire constituting the mesh pattern and separating it from the mesh pattern, four microprobes (A, B, C, D) (tungsten probes (diameter 0.5 μm) manufactured by Micro Support Co., Ltd.) are brought into contact with the separated conductive thin wire, and a constant current I is applied to the outermost probes A and D using a source meter (KEITHLEY source meter 2400 type general-purpose source meter) so that the voltage V between the inner probes B and C is 5 mV, and the resistance value Ri=V/I is measured, and the obtained resistance value Ri is divided by the distance between B and C to obtain the linear resistance value.

The conductive thin wires may form a predetermined pattern. That is, the conductive substrate may have a pattern formed by the conductive thin wires. The pattern is not particularly limited, and is preferably, for example, a triangle such as an equilateral triangle, an isosceles triangle, or a right-angled triangle; a quadrangle such as a square, a rectangle, a rhombus, a parallelogram, or a trapezoid; a (regular) n-gon such as a (regular) hexagon or a (regular) octagon; a circle, an ellipse, a star, or a geometric figure that combines these figures, and more preferably, a mesh shape (mesh pattern).

FIG. 2 is a plan view showing an example of a mesh pattern formed by conductive thin wires of a conductive substrate according to the present invention.
The mesh shape refers to a shape including a plurality of openings (lattices) 20 formed by intersecting conductive thin wires 14B, as shown in FIG. 2. In FIG. 2, the openings 20 have a rhombus (square) shape with a side length of L, but the openings of the mesh pattern may have other shapes, for example, polygonal shapes (for example, triangles, rectangles, hexagons, and random polygons). The shape of the sides may be curved shapes other than straight lines, or may be arc-shaped. When the sides are arc-shaped, for example, two opposing sides may be arc-shaped convex outward, and the other two opposing sides may be arc-shaped convex inward. The shape of each side may be a wavy line shape in which an outwardly convex arc and an inwardly convex arc are continuous. Of course, the shape of each side may be a sine curve.

The length L of one side of the opening 20 is not particularly limited, but is preferably 1500 μm or less, more preferably 1300 μm or less, and even more preferably 1000 μm or less. The lower limit of the length L is not particularly limited, but is preferably 5 μm or more, more preferably 30 μm or more, and even more preferably 80 μm or more. When the length of one side of the opening is within the above-mentioned range, it is possible to maintain good transparency, and when the conductive substrate is attached to the front of a display device, the display can be viewed without any sense of incongruity.

From the viewpoint of visible light transmittance, the opening ratio of the mesh pattern formed by the conductive thin wires is preferably 90% or more, more preferably 95% or more, and even more preferably 99% or more. The upper limit is not particularly limited, but may be less than 100%.
The aperture ratio corresponds to the area ratio of the region excluding the region in the mesh pattern where the conductive thin wires are located to the entire mesh pattern region when observed from the normal direction of the surface of the conductive substrate.

<Other components>
The conductive substrate may include other members in addition to the above-mentioned base material and conductive thin wires.
Other components that the conductive substrate may have include non-conductive portions disposed between a plurality of conductive thin wires on the surface of the conductive substrate, and conductive portions having a different configuration from the conductive thin wires described below.

The non-conductive portion is a region that does not exhibit electrical conductivity and does not substantially contain a conductive metal, where "substantially" means that the content of metal in the non-conductive portion is 0.1 mass % or less relative to the total mass of the non-conductive portion.
The non-conductive portion preferably contains a polymer compound as a main component.
The polymer compound contained in the non-conductive portion may be the polymer compound contained in the conductive thin wire, and is preferably the specific polymer. In particular, it is more preferable that the non-conductive portion contains the same polymer compound as the polymer compound (preferably the specific polymer) contained in the conductive thin wire.
The non-conductive portion "contains a polymer compound as a main component" means that the content of the polymer compound is 50 mass% or more relative to the total mass of the non-conductive portion. The content of the polymer compound in the non-conductive portion is preferably 90 mass% or more, more preferably 95 mass% or more. The upper limit is not particularly limited and may be 100 mass%.

The method for forming the non-conductive portion is not particularly limited. For example, in the method for producing a conductive substrate described below, an exposure process is performed in which a silver halide-containing photosensitive layer is exposed to light in a pattern to form unexposed portions, and then a development process is performed on the unexposed portions to form non-conductive portions whose main component is a polymer compound. In addition, a process for removing gelatin is performed as necessary to form non-conductive portions whose main component is a specific polymer.

[Specific Compound]
The conductive substrate according to the present invention contains at least one specific compound described below. By containing the specific compound, the conductive base material according to the present invention has excellent migration suppression performance between conductive thin wires and excellent light resistance.
Hereinafter, when a conductive base material has excellent light resistance or excellent migration suppression performance between conductive fine wires, this will also be referred to as "the effect of the present invention is excellent."

The specific compound will be described in detail below.
The specific compound is a compound selected from the group consisting of a compound represented by the following formula (1), a compound represented by the following formula (2), and a compound represented by the following formula (3) and a proton tautomer thereof.
The specific compound includes a compound represented by the following formula (1).

In formula (1), A represents a hydrogen atom or an organic group.
R ¹ and R ² each independently represent an aliphatic hydrocarbon group which may have a substituent.
In addition, R ¹ and R ² may be bonded to each other to form, together with the nitrogen atom bonded to both R ¹ and R ² , a nitrogen-containing heterocycle which may have a substituent.

The organic group represented by A includes a monovalent group selected from the group consisting of an aliphatic hydrocarbon group, an aromatic hydrocarbon group, and a group formed by combining two or more of these groups.
The organic group represented by A has, for example, 1 to 20 carbon atoms, preferably 1 to 15 carbon atoms, and more preferably 1 to 10 carbon atoms.
The aliphatic hydrocarbon group may be linear, branched or cyclic, preferably linear or branched, more preferably linear. The number of carbon atoms in the aliphatic hydrocarbon group is preferably 1 to 10, more preferably 1 to 5.
The aromatic hydrocarbon group is preferably an aromatic hydrocarbon group having 6 to 10 carbon atoms, and more preferably a phenyl group.

The above aliphatic hydrocarbon groups, aromatic hydrocarbon groups and groups formed by combining two or more of these groups may further have a substituent.
Examples of the substituent include a hydroxy group, an oxo group, a carboxy group, a thiol group (mercapto group), a thioxo group, a thiocarbonyl sulfide group, an amino group which may have a substituent, a phosphate group, a sulfo group, a cyano group, a nitro group, and an aryl group. A hydroxy group, an oxo group, a carboxy group, a thiol group, a thioxo group, a thiocarbonyl sulfide group, an amino group which may have one or two alkyl groups having 1 to 4 carbon atoms, or a phenyl group is preferable, and a hydroxy group, a carboxy group, an amino group which may have one or two alkyl groups having 1 to 4 carbon atoms, or a phenyl group is more preferable.
The number of the above-mentioned substituents is not particularly limited and is, for example, 1 to 3, with 1 or 2 being preferred.
Furthermore, the above aliphatic hydrocarbon groups may have —S— or —O— instead of a methylene group (—CH ₂ —) constituting the aliphatic hydrocarbon group.

The organic group represented by A above is preferably a group represented by the following formula (4).
*-A ¹ -A ² (4)
In formula (4), A ¹ represents a divalent linking group selected from the group consisting of a divalent aliphatic hydrocarbon group having 1 to 5 carbon atoms, a thiocarbonyl group, and a thiocarbonyl sulfide group.
^A2 represents a group selected from the group consisting of a hydrogen atom, a hydroxy group, a carboxy group, an amino group which may have one or two alkyl groups having 1 to 4 carbon atoms, and a phenyl group.
* indicates the site of bonding with the sulfur atom in the above formula (1).

As the divalent linking group represented by A ¹ , an alkylene group having 1 to 3 carbon atoms, a thiocarbonyl group, or a thiocarbonyl sulfide group is preferable.
Among these, the group represented by ^A2 is preferably a hydrogen atom, a carboxy group, an amino group having two methyl or ethyl groups, or a phenyl group.

As A in formula (1), a hydrogen atom or a group represented by the above formula (4) is preferable, and a hydrogen atom, a methyl group, an ethyl group, a carboxymethyl group, a benzyl group, a dimethylthiocarbamoyl group, a dimethylthiocarbamoyl sulfide group, a diethylthiocarbamoyl group, or a diethylthiocarbamoyl sulfide group is more preferable.

Examples of the aliphatic hydrocarbon group represented by R ¹ and R ² include the groups exemplified above as the aliphatic hydrocarbon group represented by A, including preferred embodiments thereof.
Moreover, the aliphatic hydrocarbon groups represented by R ¹ and R ² are preferably saturated aliphatic hydrocarbon groups.

Examples of the substituent that the aliphatic hydrocarbon group represented by ^R1 and ^R2 may have include an aryl group, a hydroxy group, an oxo group, a carboxy group, a thiol group, a thioxo group, and a thiocarbonyl sulfide group. A phenyl group, a hydroxy group, a carboxy group, or a thiol group is preferable, and a phenyl group or a hydroxy group is more preferable.
When the aliphatic hydrocarbon group has a substituent, the number of the substituent is not particularly limited, but one or two substituents are preferred, and one is more preferred.

In addition, examples of the nitrogen-containing heterocyclic group formed by R ¹ and R ² bonding to each other together with the nitrogen atom bonding to both R ¹ and R ² include nitrogen-containing non-aromatic heterocycles.
The nitrogen-containing heterocyclic group has, for example, 5 to 8 ring members, preferably 5 to 7 ring members, and more preferably 5 or 6 ring members.
The nitrogen-containing heterocyclic group is preferably a 1-pyrrolidine ring or a 1-piperidine ring.

Examples of the substituent that the nitrogen-containing heterocyclic group may have include an aliphatic hydrocarbon group having 1 to 5 carbon atoms and the groups exemplified as the substituent that the aliphatic hydrocarbon group represented by ^R1 and ^R2 may have. An alkyl group having 1 to 5 carbon atoms is preferable, and a methyl group or an ethyl group is more preferable.
When the nitrogen-containing heterocyclic group has a substituent, the number of the substituent is not particularly limited, but one or two are preferable, and one is more preferable.
The nitrogen-containing heterocyclic group preferably has no substituent.

R ¹ and R ² preferably represent an alkyl group having 1 to 5 carbon atoms which may have the above-mentioned substituent (more preferably a phenyl group or a hydroxy group), or combine with each other to form a nitrogen-containing non-aromatic heterocycle having 5 to 7 ring members which may have a methyl group or an ethyl group, and more preferably represent a methyl group or an ethyl group, or combine with each other to form a 1-pyrrolidine ring or a 1-piperidine ring.
When R ¹ and R ² do not form a ring, R ¹ and R ² may be the same or different, but are preferably the same.

The compound represented by the above formula (1) includes a compound in which A in formula (1) is the above preferred group, and R ¹ and R ² in formula (1) are the above preferred groups.

The specific compound also includes a compound represented by the following formula (2):

In formula (2), X ⁿ⁺ represents an n-valent counter ion;
n represents an integer of 1 to 3;
R ¹ and R ² each independently represent an aliphatic hydrocarbon group which may have a substituent.
In addition, R ¹ and R ² may be bonded to each other to form, together with the nitrogen atom bonded to both R ¹ and R ² , a nitrogen-containing heterocycle which may have a substituent.
In addition, in the above formula (2), when X ⁿ⁺ represents a divalent or trivalent cation, the compound has two or three structures other than X ⁿ⁺ represented by formula (2).

In the above formula (2), the aliphatic hydrocarbon group which may have a substituent represented by R ¹ and R ² may be the same as the aliphatic hydrocarbon group which may have a substituent represented by R ¹ and R ² in the above formula (1), including preferred embodiments thereof.
In addition, in the above formula (2), the nitrogen-containing heterocycle which may have a substituent formed by R ¹ and R ² bonding to each other may be the same as the nitrogen-containing heterocycle which may have a substituent formed by R ¹ and R ² bonding to each other in the above formula (1), including preferred embodiments thereof.

In formula (2), examples of the counter ion represented by Xn ⁺ include a hydrogen ion (H ⁺ ), a metal ion, and an ammonium ion which may have an aliphatic hydrocarbon group.
Examples of metal elements constituting the metal ions include alkali metal elements such as sodium and potassium, alkaline earth metal elements such as calcium, magnesium, and strontium, and transition metal elements such as copper, zinc, nickel, iron, manganese, and cobalt. Among these, sodium, potassium, copper, zinc, nickel, or iron is preferred, and sodium is more preferred.

As the ammonium ion which may have an aliphatic hydrocarbon group, a compound represented by the following formula (5) is preferred.
N ⁺ R _p H _(4-p) (5)
In formula (5), p represents an integer of 0 to 4, and R represents an alkyl group having 1 to 5 carbon atoms. When p represents an integer of 2 to 4, R may be the same or different. When p represents an integer of 2 to 4, two R may be bonded to each other to form a nitrogen-containing non-aromatic heterocycle, which may have an alkyl group having 1 to 5 carbon atoms together with the nitrogen atom.

As p, an integer of 0 to 3 is preferable, and an integer of 0 to 2 is more preferable.
The alkyl group having 1 to 5 carbon atoms represented by R is preferably a methyl group or an ethyl group.
The nitrogen-containing non-aromatic heterocycle, including preferred embodiments thereof, may be the same as the nitrogen-containing non-aromatic heterocycle formed by bonding R ¹ and R ² in the above formula (1). Among them, a 1-piperidine ring or a 1-azepane ring which may have a methyl group or an ethyl group is preferred, and a 1-piperidine ring is more preferred.
As the ammonium ion which may have an aliphatic hydrocarbon group, NH ₄ ⁺ , a dimethylammonium ion, a diethylammonium ion, or a piperidinium ion is preferred.

In formula (2), the counter ion represented by Xn ⁺ is preferably a hydrogen ion (H ⁺ ), a sodium ion (Na ⁺ ), a potassium ion (K ⁺ ), a copper ion ( ^Cu2+ ), a zinc ion (Zn2 ⁺ ), a nickel ion (Ni2 ⁺ ), an iron ion (Fe3 ⁺ ), or an ammonium ion represented by the above formula (5), and more preferably a hydrogen ion, a sodium ion, an ammonium ion, a dimethylammonium ion, a diethylammonium ion, or a piperidinium ion.

The compound represented by the above formula (2) includes a compound in which Xn ⁺ in formula (2) is the above-mentioned preferred group, n is 1, and ^R1 and ^R2 in formula (2) are the above-mentioned preferred groups.

Specific examples of the compound represented by the above formula (1) and the compound represented by the above formula (2) are shown below. The compound represented by the above formula (1) and the compound represented by the above formula (2) are not limited to the following specific examples.

Specific compounds include the compound represented by the following formula (3) and its proton tautomer.

In formula (3), R ³ to R ⁶ each independently represent a hydrogen atom or an organic group.
^R4 and ^R5 may be bonded to each other to form a nitrogen-containing heterocycle which may have a substituent together with the two nitrogen atoms and carbon atom represented in the above formula (3).
However, when ^R4 and ^R5 are bonded to each other to form the nitrogen-containing heterocycle, ^R3 and ^R6 each independently represent a hydrogen atom or the above organic group.
Examples of the proton tautomer of the compound represented by the above formula (3) include a compound represented by the following formula (3a) and a compound represented by the following formula (3b).

In formula (3a) and formula (3b), R ³ , R ⁴ and R ⁵ are the same as R ³ , R ⁴ and R ⁵ in formula (3) above, respectively.
In formula (3b), X ⁿ⁺ represents an n-valent counter ion, and n represents an integer of 1 to 3. X ⁿ⁺ and n in formula (3b) may be the same as X ⁿ⁺ and n in formula (2) described above, including preferred embodiments thereof.
Hereinafter, the description of the compound represented by formula (3) includes proton tautomers of the compound represented by formula (3), such as those represented by formula (3a) and formula (3b), unless otherwise specified.

The organic groups represented by R ³ to R ⁶ include monovalent groups selected from the group consisting of aliphatic hydrocarbon groups, aromatic hydrocarbon groups, and groups formed by combining two or more of these groups.
The organic group represented by R ³ to R ⁶ has, for example, 1 to 20 carbon atoms, preferably 1 to 15 carbon atoms, and more preferably 1 to 10 carbon atoms.
The aliphatic hydrocarbon group may be linear, branched or cyclic, preferably linear or branched, more preferably linear. The number of carbon atoms in the aliphatic hydrocarbon group is preferably 1 to 8, more preferably 1 to 5.
The aromatic hydrocarbon group is preferably an aromatic hydrocarbon group having 6 to 10 carbon atoms, and more preferably a phenyl group.

The above aliphatic hydrocarbon groups, aromatic hydrocarbon groups and groups formed by combining two or more of these groups may further have a substituent.
Examples of the substituent include a hydroxy group, an oxo group, a carboxy group, a thiol group, a thioxo group, a thiocarbonyl sulfide group, an amino group which may have a substituent, a phosphate group, a sulfo group, a cyano group, a nitro group, and an aryl group, and a hydroxy group, an oxo group, or a carboxy group is preferable.
The number of the above-mentioned substituents is, for example, 1 to 3, and 1 is preferable.
Furthermore, the above aliphatic hydrocarbon group may have —S— or —O— instead of a methylene group (—CH ₂ —) constituting the aliphatic hydrocarbon group.

The organic groups represented by ^R3 to ^R6 above are preferably an alkyl group having 1 to 5 carbon atoms, an alkylcarbonyl group having 1 to 5 carbon atoms, a phenyl group, a benzyl group, or a cyclohexyl group, more preferably an alkyl group having 1 to 5 carbon atoms, an acetyl group, or a phenyl group. It is preferable that these groups have no substituent.

In addition, the nitrogen-containing heterocyclic group formed by combining ^R4 and ^R5 with each other together with the two nitrogen atoms and the carbon atom represented by the above formula (3) is not particularly limited as long as it has a cyclic structure containing a thiourea structure (>N-C(=S)-N<).
The nitrogen-containing heterocyclic group may be either aromatic or non-aromatic. The number of ring members of the nitrogen-containing heterocyclic group is, for example, 5 or 6, and preferably 5. The nitrogen-containing heterocyclic group is preferably an imidazoline ring or an imidazolidine ring.

Examples of the substituent that the nitrogen-containing heterocyclic group may have include an aliphatic hydrocarbon group having 1 to 5 carbon atoms and the groups exemplified as the substituent that the aliphatic hydrocarbon group represented by ^R3 to ^R6 may have. An alkyl group having 1 to 5 carbon atoms is preferable, and a methyl group or an ethyl group is more preferable.
The number of the above-mentioned substituents is, for example, 1 to 3, and 1 or 2 is preferable.
In the nitrogen-containing heterocyclic group, the substituents replacing the hydrogen atoms of the adjacent carbon atoms may be bonded to each other to form a phenyl group which may have a substituent. That is, R ⁴ and R ⁵ may be bonded to each other to form a benzimidazoline ring which may have a substituent together with the two nitrogen atoms and carbon atoms represented by the above formula (3). Examples of the substituent which the benzimidazoline ring may have include an alkyl group having 1 to 5 carbon atoms, an alkoxy group having 1 to 5 carbon atoms, an amino group, and a sulfo group, and a methyl group, an ethyl group, a methoxy group, an amino group, or a sulfo group is preferable.

When ^R4 and ^R5 are bonded to each other to form a nitrogen-containing heterocyclic group, it is preferable that at least one of ^R3 and ^R6 represents a hydrogen atom, and it is more preferable that one of ^R3 and ^R6 represents a hydrogen atom and the other represents a hydrogen atom, a methyl group, or an ethyl group.

Of R ³ to R ⁶ in the above formula (3), it is preferable that 1 to 3 represent a hydrogen atom, and more preferably 2 represent a hydrogen atom.

As the compound represented by the above formula (3), a compound in which R ³ to R ⁶ each independently represent a hydrogen atom, an alkyl group having 1 to 5 carbon atoms, an alkylcarbonyl group having 1 to 5 carbon atoms, a phenyl group, a benzyl group, or a cyclohexyl group, and when R ⁴ and R ⁵ are bonded to each other to form a nitrogen-containing heterocycle, the nitrogen-containing heterocycle is an imidazoline ring or imidazolidine ring which may have a methyl group or an ethyl group as a substituent, or a benzoimidazoline ring which may have a methyl group, an ethyl group, a methoxy group, a sulfo group, or an amino group as a substituent, and at least one of R ³ and R ⁶ represents a hydrogen atom is preferred.

Specific examples of the compound represented by the above formula (3) are shown below. The compound represented by the above formula (3) is not limited to the following specific examples.

The specific compound may be present in any of the components constituting the conductive substrate, but is preferably contained in at least one of the conductive thin wires and the non-conductive portion described above, and is more preferably contained in the conductive thin wires.

The content of the specific compound contained in the conductive substrate is preferably 1.0 μg/g or more, more preferably 3.0 μg/g or more, and even more preferably 8.0 μg/g or more, per weight of the conductive substrate, in terms of better effects of the present invention.
The upper limit is not particularly limited, but in terms of better conductivity and surface condition, the amount is preferably 1000 μg/g or less, and more preferably 400 μg/g or less, per weight of the conductive substrate.
The content of the specific compound contained in the conductive substrate can be measured by immersing the conductive substrate in an extraction solvent to extract the specific compound, and then quantifying the content of the specific compound in the extraction solvent. A detailed method for measuring the content of the specific compound will be described in the Examples below.

The method of incorporating the specific compound into the conductive substrate is not particularly limited, and examples of the method include incorporating the specific compound into the composition used to form the conductive thin wires or non-conductive parts in advance, and contacting the specific compound with the conductive substrate during or after the production of the conductive substrate having the conductive thin wires. In particular, it is preferable to contact the specific compound with the conductive substrate by process P, which will be described later.

[Method for producing conductive substrate]
Next, a method for producing the conductive substrate will be described.
The method for producing the conductive substrate is not particularly limited as long as the conductive substrate having the above-mentioned configuration can be produced, and a known method can be adopted.For example, the method of performing exposure and development using silver halide, the method of forming a metal-containing layer on the entire surface of a support, and then removing a part of the metal-containing layer using a resist pattern to form a thin line-shaped metal-containing layer, and the method of ejecting a composition containing metal and resin onto a substrate by a known printing method such as inkjet to form a thin line-shaped metal-containing layer can be included.
Among them, the method of performing exposure and development using silver halide is preferred in terms of superior productivity and conductivity of the conductive thin wires. Specifically, a method of producing a conductive substrate having steps A to E described below in this order can be mentioned.
Hereinafter, a method for producing a conductive substrate having steps A to E will be described in detail, but the method for producing a conductive substrate according to the present invention is not limited to the following production method.

<Step A>
Step A is a step of forming a silver halide-containing photosensitive layer (hereinafter also referred to as a "photosensitive layer") containing silver halide, gelatin, and a specific polymer (a polymer compound different from gelatin) on a substrate. This step produces a substrate with a photosensitive layer that is to be subjected to an exposure treatment described later.
First, the materials and members used in step A will be described in detail, and then the procedure of step A will be described in detail.
The base material and the specific polymer used in the step A are as described above.

(Silver halide)
The halogen atom contained in silver halide may be any of chlorine atom, bromine atom, iodine atom and fluorine atom, or may be a combination of these.For example, silver halide mainly made of silver chloride, silver bromide or silver iodide is preferred, and silver halide mainly made of silver chloride or silver bromide is more preferred.In addition, silver chlorobromide, silver iodochlorobromide or silver iodobromide is also preferably used.
Here, for example, "silver halide mainly composed of silver chloride" refers to a silver halide in which the molar fraction of chloride ions in the total halide ions in the silver halide composition is 50% or more. This silver halide mainly composed of silver chloride may contain bromide ions and/or iodide ions in addition to chloride ions.

The silver halide is usually in the form of solid particles, and the average particle size of the silver halide is preferably from 10 to 1,000 nm, more preferably from 10 to 200 nm, in terms of the equivalent sphere diameter, and even more preferably from 50 to 150 nm, in that the change in resistance value of the conductive thin wire is smaller in a moist and hot environment.
The equivalent sphere diameter is the diameter of a spherical particle having the same volume.
The "equivalent sphere diameter" used as the average grain diameter of the above-mentioned silver halide is an average value, which is obtained by measuring the equivalent sphere diameters of 100 silver halide particles and calculating the arithmetic average thereof.

The shape of the silver halide grains is not particularly limited, and examples of such shapes include spherical, cubic, tabular (hexagonal tabular, triangular tabular, quadrangular tabular, etc.), octahedral, and tetradecahedral shapes.

(gelatin)
The type of gelatin is not particularly limited, and examples thereof include lime-processed gelatin and acid-processed gelatin. In addition, gelatin hydrolysates, gelatin enzymatic decomposition products, and gelatins modified with amino groups and/or carboxyl groups (phthalated gelatin and acetylated gelatin) may also be used.

The photosensitive layer contains the specific polymer described above. By including this specific polymer in the photosensitive layer, the strength of the conductive thin wire formed from the photosensitive layer is further improved.

(Procedure of Step A)
The method for forming the photosensitive layer containing the above-mentioned components in step A is not particularly limited, but from the viewpoint of productivity, a method in which a composition for forming a photosensitive layer containing silver halide, gelatin, and a specific polymer is brought into contact with a substrate to form a photosensitive layer on the substrate is preferred.
The form of the photosensitive layer forming composition used in this method will be described in detail below, and then the steps will be described in detail.

(Materials contained in the composition for forming the photosensitive layer)
The composition for forming the photosensitive layer contains the above-mentioned silver halide, gelatin, and specific polymer. If necessary, the specific polymer may be contained in the composition for forming the photosensitive layer in the form of particles.
The photosensitive layer forming composition may contain a solvent, if necessary.
Examples of the solvent include water, organic solvents (for example, alcohols, ketones, amides, sulfoxides, esters, and ethers), ionic liquids, and mixed solvents thereof.

The method for contacting the composition for forming a photosensitive layer with the substrate is not particularly limited, and examples thereof include a method of applying the composition for forming a photosensitive layer onto the substrate, and a method of immersing the substrate in the composition for forming a photosensitive layer.
After the above-mentioned treatment, a drying treatment may be carried out, if necessary.

(Silver halide-containing light-sensitive layer)
The light-sensitive layer formed by the above-mentioned procedure contains silver halide, gelatin and a specific polymer.
The content of silver halide in the photosensitive layer is not particularly limited, and is preferably 3.0 to 20.0 g/m ² , and more preferably 5.0 to 15.0 g/m ² , calculated as silver, in order to provide a more excellent electrical conductivity for the conductive substrate. The silver content is calculated as the mass of silver produced by reducing all of the silver halide.
The content of the specific polymer in the photosensitive layer is not particularly limited, and is preferably 0.04 to 2.0 g/ ^m2 , more preferably 0.08 to 0.40 g/ ^m2 , and even more preferably 0.10 to 0.40 g/ ^m2 , in order to provide a conductive substrate with superior conductivity.

<Step B>
Step B is a step of exposing the photosensitive layer to light and then developing it to form a fine line-shaped silver-containing layer that contains metallic silver, gelatin, and a polymer.

By subjecting the photosensitive layer to an exposure process, a latent image is formed in the exposed areas.
Exposure may be carried out in a pattern. For example, in order to obtain a mesh pattern consisting of conductive thin wires as described below, examples of the method include a method of exposing through a mask having a mesh-shaped opening pattern, and a method of exposing in a mesh pattern by scanning with laser light.
There is no particular limitation on the type of light used for exposure, so long as it can form a latent image in the silver halide, and examples of such light include visible light, ultraviolet light, and X-rays.

By subjecting the exposed photosensitive layer to a development process, metallic silver is precipitated in the exposed areas (areas where a latent image is formed).
The method of development is not particularly limited, and examples thereof include known methods used for silver halide photographic films, photographic papers, films for printing plate making, and emulsion masks for photomasks.
In the development process, a developer is usually used. The type of developer is not particularly limited, and examples thereof include a PQ (phenidone hydroquinone) developer, an MQ (metol hydroquinone) developer, and an MAA (metol ascorbic acid) developer.

This process may further include a fixing treatment for the purpose of removing and stabilizing the silver halide in the unexposed areas.
Fixing treatment is carried out simultaneously with and/or after development. The method of fixing treatment is not particularly limited, and examples thereof include methods used for silver halide photographic films, photographic papers, films for printing plate making, and emulsion masks for photomasks.
In the fixing process, a fixing solution is usually used. The type of fixing solution is not particularly limited, and examples thereof include the fixing solutions described on page 321 of "Chemistry of Photography" (by Sasai, Shashin Kogyo Publishing Co., Ltd.).

By carrying out the above-mentioned treatment, a fine line-shaped silver-containing layer containing metallic silver, gelatin and a specific polymer is formed.
The width of the silver-containing layer can be adjusted, for example, by adjusting the opening width of a mask used during exposure. For example, the exposure area can be adjusted by setting the opening width of the mask to 1.0 μm or more and less than 5.0 μm.
In addition, when using a mask during exposure, the width of the silver-containing layer formed can also be adjusted by adjusting the amount of exposure. For example, when the opening width of the mask is narrower than the width of the silver-containing layer to be targeted, the width of the region in which the latent image is formed can be adjusted by increasing the amount of exposure more than usual. That is, the line width of the conductive thin line can be adjusted by the amount of exposure.
Furthermore, when a laser beam is used, the exposure area can be adjusted by adjusting the focusing range and/or scanning range of the laser beam.

The width of the silver-containing layer is preferably 1.0 μm or more and less than 5.0 μm, and more preferably 2.0 μm or less, since the formed conductive thin lines are difficult to visually recognize.
The silver-containing layer obtained by the above-mentioned procedure is in the form of thin lines, and the width of the silver-containing layer means the length (width) of the silver-containing layer in a direction perpendicular to the direction in which the thin lines of the silver-containing layer extend.

<Step C>
Step C is a step of subjecting the silver-containing layer obtained in step B to a heat treatment. By carrying out this step, fusion between specific polymers in the silver-containing layer progresses, and the strength of the silver-containing layer is improved.

The method of heat treatment is not particularly limited, and examples include a method of contacting the silver-containing layer with superheated steam and a method of heating the silver-containing layer with a temperature control device (e.g., a heater), with the method of contacting the silver-containing layer with superheated steam being preferred.

The superheated steam may be superheated water vapor or a mixture of superheated water vapor and other gases.
The contact time between the superheated steam and the silver-containing layer is not particularly limited, but is preferably from 10 to 70 seconds.
The supply amount of the superheated steam is preferably 500 to 600 g/m ³ , and the temperature of the superheated steam is preferably 100 to 160° C. (preferably 100 to 120° C.) at 1 atmospheric pressure.

In the method of heating the silver-containing layer with a temperature control device, the heating conditions are preferably 100 to 200°C (preferably 100 to 150°C) for 1 to 240 minutes (preferably 60 to 150 minutes).

<Step D>
Step D is a step of removing gelatin from the silver-containing layer obtained in step C. By carrying out this step, gelatin is removed from the silver-containing layer, and voids are formed in the silver-containing layer.

The method for removing gelatin is not particularly limited, and examples include a method using a protease (hereinafter also referred to as "Method 1") and a method for decomposing and removing gelatin using an oxidizing agent (hereinafter also referred to as "Method 2").

The proteolytic enzyme used in Method 1 includes known plant or animal enzymes capable of hydrolyzing proteins such as gelatin.
Examples of proteolytic enzymes include pepsin, rennin, trypsin, chymotrypsin, cathepsin, papain, ficin, thrombin, renin, collagenase, bromelain, and bacterial proteases, with trypsin, papain, ficin, and bacterial proteases being preferred.
The procedure in Method 1 may be any method that brings the silver-containing layer into contact with the above-mentioned protease, for example, a method of bringing the silver-containing layer into contact with a treatment liquid containing a protease (hereinafter also referred to as "enzyme liquid"). Examples of the contact method include a method of immersing the silver-containing layer in the enzyme liquid and a method of applying the enzyme liquid onto the silver-containing layer.
The content of the protease in the enzyme solution is not particularly limited, and is preferably 0.05 to 20% by mass, and more preferably 0.5 to 10% by mass, based on the total amount of the enzyme solution, in that the degree of decomposition and removal of gelatin can be easily controlled.
The enzyme solution often contains water in addition to the above-mentioned proteolytic enzymes.
The enzyme solution may contain other additives, if necessary, such as a pH buffer, an antibacterial compound, a humectant, and a preservative.
The pH of the enzyme solution is selected so as to obtain maximum activity of the enzyme, and is preferably 5 to 9.
The temperature of the enzyme solution is preferably a temperature at which the activity of the enzyme is enhanced, specifically, 20 to 45°C.

If necessary, after the treatment with the enzyme solution, a washing treatment may be carried out in which the obtained silver-containing layer is washed with warm water.
The washing method is not particularly limited, and a method of contacting the silver-containing layer with warm water is preferred. Examples of the washing method include a method of immersing the silver-containing layer in warm water and a method of applying warm water onto the silver-containing layer.
The temperature of the hot water is appropriately selected optimally depending on the type of protease used, and from the viewpoint of productivity, a temperature of 20 to 80°C is preferable, and a temperature of 40 to 60°C is more preferable.
The contact time (washing time) between the hot water and the silver-containing layer is not particularly limited, and from the viewpoint of productivity, it is preferably from 1 to 600 seconds, more preferably from 30 to 360 seconds.

The oxidizing agent used in Method 2 may be any oxidizing agent capable of decomposing gelatin, and is preferably an oxidizing agent having a standard electrode potential of +1.5 V or more. The standard electrode potential here refers to the standard electrode potential (25° C., E0) of the oxidizing agent in an aqueous solution with respect to a standard hydrogen electrode.
Examples of the oxidizing agent include persulfuric acid, percarbonic acid, perphosphoric acid, hypoperchloric acid, peracetic acid, metachloroperbenzoic acid, hydrogen peroxide, perchloric acid, periodic acid, potassium permanganate, ammonium persulfate, ozone, hypochlorous acid or a salt thereof, and the like. From the viewpoints of productivity and economy, however, hydrogen peroxide (standard electrode potential: 1.76 V), hypochlorous acid or a salt thereof are preferred, and sodium hypochlorite is more preferred.

The procedure in Method 2 may be any method that brings the silver-containing layer into contact with the above-mentioned oxidizing agent, for example, a method of bringing the silver-containing layer into contact with a treatment liquid containing an oxidizing agent (hereinafter also referred to as "oxidizing agent liquid"). Examples of the contact method include a method of immersing the silver-containing layer in the oxidizing agent liquid and a method of applying the oxidizing agent liquid onto the silver-containing layer.
The type of solvent contained in the oxidizing agent liquid is not particularly limited, and examples thereof include water and organic solvents.

<Step E>
Step E is a step of obtaining a conductive thin wire by plating the silver-containing layer obtained in step D. By carrying out this step, a conductive thin wire is formed in which a metal (plating metal) is filled in the space formed by removing the gelatin.

The type of plating is not particularly limited, but examples include electroless plating (chemical reduction plating or displacement plating) and electrolytic plating, and electroless plating is preferred. As the electroless plating, a known electroless plating technique is used.
Examples of plating treatments include silver plating treatment, copper plating treatment, nickel plating treatment, and cobalt plating treatment. In terms of superior conductivity of the conductive thin wire, silver plating treatment or copper plating treatment is preferred, and silver plating treatment is more preferred.

The components contained in the plating solution used in the plating process are not particularly limited, but typically contain, in addition to a solvent (e.g., water), 1. metal ions for plating, 2. a reducing agent, 3. an additive (stabilizer) for improving the stability of the metal ions, and 4. a pH adjuster. In addition to these, the plating bath may contain known additives such as a plating bath stabilizer.
The type of metal ion contained in the plating solution for plating can be appropriately selected depending on the type of metal to be deposited, and examples thereof include silver ions, copper ions, nickel ions, and cobalt ions.

The procedure for the above-mentioned plating treatment is not particularly limited, and any method that brings the silver-containing layer into contact with a plating solution may be used. For example, a method of immersing the silver-containing layer in a plating solution and a method of applying a plating solution to the silver-containing layer may be used.
The contact time between the silver-containing layer and the plating solution is not particularly limited, but is preferably 20 seconds to 30 minutes from the standpoint of superior conductivity of the conductive thin wire and productivity.

<Step F>
The method for producing a conductive substrate may further include a step F of subjecting the conductive thin wire obtained in the above step to a smoothing treatment.

The method of the smoothing treatment is not particularly limited, and for example, a calendering treatment step in which the substrate having the conductive thin wires is passed between at least a pair of rolls under pressure is preferred. Hereinafter, the smoothing treatment using a calender roll will be referred to as the calendering treatment.
The rolls used in the calendar treatment include plastic rolls and metal rolls, with plastic rolls being preferred from the viewpoint of preventing wrinkles.
The pressure between the rolls is not particularly limited, but is preferably 2 MPa or more, more preferably 4 MPa or more, and is preferably 120 MPa or less. The pressure between the rolls can be measured using a Prescale (for high pressure) manufactured by FUJIFILM Corporation.
The temperature for the smoothing treatment is not particularly limited, but is preferably from 10 to 100°C, and more preferably from 10 to 50°C.

<Process G>
The method for producing a conductive substrate may include a step G of subjecting the conductive thin wire obtained in the above step to a heat treatment. By carrying out this step, a conductive thin wire having superior conductivity can be obtained.
The method for subjecting the conductive thin wire to the heat treatment is not particularly limited, and the methods described in step C can be mentioned.

<Step H>
The method for producing a conductive substrate may include a step H of forming a silver halide-free layer containing gelatin and a specific polymer on the substrate before the step A. By carrying out this step, a silver halide-free layer is formed between the substrate and the silver halide-containing photosensitive layer. This silver halide-free layer plays a role of a so-called antihalation layer and contributes to improving the adhesion between the conductive layer and the substrate.
The silver halide-free layer contains the above-mentioned gelatin and specific polymer, while the silver halide-free layer does not contain any silver halide.
The ratio of the mass of the specific polymer to the mass of gelatin in the silver halide-free layer (mass of specific polymer/mass of gelatin) is not particularly limited, but is preferably from 0.1 to 5.0, and more preferably from 1.0 to 3.0.
The content of the specific polymer in the silver halide-free layer is not particularly limited, but is often 0.03 g/ ^m2 or more, and is preferably 1.0 g/ ^m2 or more in terms of better adhesion of the conductive thin wire. The upper limit is not particularly limited, but is often 1.63 g/ ^m2 or less.

The method for forming the silver halide-free layer is not particularly limited, and examples thereof include a method in which a layer-forming composition containing gelatin and a specific polymer is applied onto a substrate, and then heat-treated as necessary.
The layer-forming composition may contain a solvent, if necessary. Examples of the type of solvent include the solvents used in the photosensitive layer-forming composition described above.
The thickness of the silver halide-free layer is not particularly limited, and is often 0.05 μm or more. In terms of better adhesion to the conductive thin wire, the thickness is preferably more than 1.0 μm, and more preferably 1.5 μm or more. The upper limit is not particularly limited, but it is preferably less than 3.0 μm.

<Step I>
The method for producing a conductive substrate may include a step I of forming a protective layer containing gelatin and a specific polymer on the silver halide-containing photosensitive layer after the step A and before the step B. By providing the protective layer, it is possible to improve scratch resistance and mechanical properties of the photosensitive layer.
The ratio of the mass of the specific polymer to the mass of gelatin in the protective layer (mass of specific polymer/mass of gelatin) is not particularly limited, and is preferably more than 0 and not more than 2.0, and more preferably more than 0 and not more than 1.0.
The content of the specific polymer in the protective layer is not particularly limited, but is preferably more than 0 g/ ^m2 and 0.3 g/ ^m2 or less, and more preferably 0.005 to 0.1 g/ ^m2 .

The method for forming the protective layer is not particularly limited, and examples thereof include a method in which a composition for forming a protective layer containing gelatin and a specific polymer is applied onto a silver halide-containing photosensitive layer, and if necessary, a heat treatment is performed.
The composition for forming a protective layer may contain a solvent, if necessary. The type of the solvent may be the same as that used in the composition for forming a photosensitive layer described above.
The thickness of the protective layer is not particularly limited, but is preferably from 0.03 to 0.3 μm, and more preferably from 0.075 to 0.20 μm.

The above-mentioned steps H, A, and I may be carried out simultaneously by simultaneous multi-layer coating.

<Process P>
Step P is a step of contacting the conductive substrate with a specific compound to produce the conductive substrate of the present invention in which the specific compound is contained in the conductive thin wires.
The method of contacting the conductive substrate with the specific compound is not particularly limited, and examples thereof include a method of immersing the conductive substrate in a treatment liquid containing the specific compound, and a method of applying a treatment liquid containing the specific compound to the surface of a substrate on which conductive thin wires are formed.Furthermore, examples thereof include a method of immersing a substrate having a thin-line metal-containing layer in the treatment liquid, and a method of applying the treatment liquid to the surface of a substrate having a thin-line metal-containing layer.
By carrying out step P, the specific compound penetrates into and is adsorbed to the conductive thin wires, and migration between the conductive thin wires is suppressed.

The treatment liquid containing the specific compound is preferably a solution obtained by dissolving the specific compound in a solvent. The type of the solvent used is not particularly limited, and examples thereof include the solvents used in the composition for forming the photosensitive layer described above.
The content of the specific compound in the treatment liquid may be appropriately determined depending on the amount of the specific compound to be contained in the target conductive substrate and the treatment conditions, but is preferably 0.01 to 2 mass %, and more preferably 0.1 to 0.5 mass %, relative to the total mass of the treatment liquid.
The temperature of the treatment liquid when it is brought into contact with the conductive substrate is, for example, 25 to 60°C.
The contact time between the specific compound and the conductive substrate is not particularly limited, but is preferably from 0.1 to 10 minutes, and more preferably from 0.2 to 3 minutes.

[Uses of conductive substrates]
The conductive substrate obtained as described above can be used in various applications, including touch panels (or touch panel sensors), semiconductor chips, various electric wiring boards, FPCs (Flexible Printed Circuits), COFs (Chip on Film), TABs (Tape Automated Bonding), antennas, multilayer wiring boards, and motherboards. In particular, the conductive substrate of the present invention is preferably used for touch panels (capacitive touch panels).
When the conductive substrate of the present invention is used in a touch panel, the above-mentioned conductive thin wires can effectively function as detection electrodes.
When the conductive substrate of the present invention is used for a touch panel, examples of the display panel used in combination with the conductive substrate include a liquid crystal panel and an OLED (Organic Light Emitting Diode) panel, and a combination with an OLED panel is preferable.

In addition to the conductive thin wires, the conductive substrate may have a conductive part having a different configuration from the conductive thin wires. This conductive part may be electrically connected to the conductive thin wires and be conductive. Examples of the conductive part include peripheral wiring that has the function of applying a voltage to the conductive thin wires, and alignment marks that adjust the position of the conductive substrate and the members to be laminated.

Other uses of the conductive substrate of the present invention include, for example, an electromagnetic wave shield that blocks electromagnetic waves such as radio waves and microwaves (ultra-high frequency waves) generated from electronic devices such as personal computers and workstations, and prevents static electricity. Such an electromagnetic wave shield can be used not only in personal computer bodies, but also in electronic devices such as video recording devices and electronic medical devices.
The conductive substrate of the present invention can also be used for a transparent heating element.

The conductive substrate of the present invention may be used in the form of a laminate having the conductive substrate and other members such as an adhesive sheet and a release sheet during handling and transportation. The release sheet functions as a protective sheet for preventing the conductive substrate from being scratched during transportation of the laminate.
The conductive substrate may also be handled in the form of a composite having, for example, a conductive substrate, an adhesive sheet, and a protective layer in this order.

The present invention is basically configured as described above. The conductive substrate of the present invention has been described in detail, but the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment, and various improvements or modifications may be made without departing from the spirit of the present invention.

The present invention will be explained in more detail below with reference to examples. Note that the materials, amounts used, ratios, processing contents, and processing procedures shown in the following examples can be changed as appropriate without departing from the spirit of the present invention. Therefore, the scope of the present invention should not be interpreted as being limited by the specific examples shown below.

[Example 1]
[Preparation of Silver Halide Emulsion]
To the following solution 1, which was kept at 38°C and pH 4.5, 90% of each of the following solutions 2 and 3 were added simultaneously over 20 minutes while stirring the solution 1, forming core particles of 0.16 μm. Next, the following solutions 4 and 5 were added to the resulting solution over 8 minutes, and the remaining 10% of the following solutions 2 and 3 were added over 2 minutes to grow the core particles to 0.21 μm. Furthermore, 0.15 g of potassium iodide was added to the resulting solution, which was aged for 5 minutes to complete the grain formation.

Part 1:
750ml water
Gelatin: 8.6g
Sodium chloride 3g
1,3-Dimethylimidazolidine-2-thione 20mg
Sodium benzenethiosulfonate 10mg
Citric acid 0.7g
Part 2:
300ml water
Silver nitrate 150g
Solution 3:
300ml water
Sodium chloride 38g
Potassium bromide 32g
Potassium hexachloroiridate (III) (0.005% KCl 20% aqueous solution) 5 ml
Ammonium hexachlororhodate
(0.001% NaCl 20% aqueous solution) 7ml
Solution 4:
100ml water
Silver nitrate 50g
Solution 5:
100ml water
Sodium chloride 13g
Potassium bromide 11g
Yellow prussia salt 5mg

After that, the emulsion was washed by the usual flocculation method. Specifically, the temperature of the above-mentioned obtained solution was lowered to 35°C, and the pH was lowered using sulfuric acid until the silver halide precipitated (pH was in the range of 3.6 ± 0.2). Next, about 3 liters of the supernatant liquid was removed from the obtained solution (first washing). Next, 3 liters of distilled water was added to the solution from which the supernatant liquid had been removed, and then sulfuric acid was added until the silver halide precipitated. Again, 3 liters of the supernatant liquid was removed from the obtained solution (second washing). The same operation as the second washing was repeated once more (third washing), completing the washing and desalting process. The emulsion after washing and desalting was adjusted to pH 6.4 and pAg 7.5, and 2.5 g of gelatin, 10 mg of sodium benzenethiosulfonate, 3 mg of sodium benzenethiosulfinate, 15 mg of sodium thiosulfate, and 10 mg of chloroauric acid were added, and chemical sensitization was performed at 55°C to obtain the optimal sensitivity. Then, 100 mg of 1,3,3a,7-tetraazaindene as a stabilizer and 100 mg of Proxel (product name, manufactured by ICI Co., Ltd.) as a preservative were added to the resulting emulsion. The final emulsion was a silver chlorobromide cubic grain emulsion containing 0.08 mol % of silver iodide and a ratio of silver chlorobromide of 70 mol % of silver chloride and 30 mol % of silver bromide, with an average grain size (equivalent sphere diameter) of 200 nm and a coefficient of variation of 9%.

[Preparation of Photosensitive Layer Forming Composition]
To the above emulsion, 1,3,3a,7-tetraazaindene (1.2×10 ⁻⁴ mol/mol Ag), hydroquinone (1.2×10 ⁻² mol/mol Ag), citric acid (3.0×10 ⁻⁴ mol/mol Ag), 2,4-dichloro-6-hydroxy-1,3,5-triazine sodium salt (0.90 g/mol Ag) and a trace amount of a hardener were added to obtain a composition. The pH of the composition was then adjusted to 5.6 using citric acid.
To the above composition, a polymer latex (ratio of the mass of the dispersant to the mass of polymer 1 (mass of dispersant/mass of polymer 1, unit: g/g) was 0.02, and the solid content was 22% by mass) containing a polymer represented by the following (P-1) (hereinafter also referred to as "polymer 1"), a dispersant consisting of dialkylphenyl PEO (PEO is an abbreviation for polyethylene oxide) sulfate ester, and water was added so that the ratio of the mass of polymer 1 to the total mass of gelatin in the composition (mass of polymer 1/mass of gelatin, unit: g/g) was 0.25/1, thereby obtaining a polymer latex-containing composition. Here, in the polymer latex-containing composition, the ratio of the mass of gelatin to the mass of silver derived from silver halide (mass of gelatin/mass of silver derived from silver halide, unit: g/g) was 0.11.
Furthermore, EPOXY RESIN DY 022 (product name: manufactured by Nagase Chemtex Corporation) was added as a crosslinking agent. The amount of the crosslinking agent added was adjusted so that the amount of the crosslinking agent in the silver halide-containing photosensitive layer described below was 0.09 g/ ^m2 .
In this manner, a composition for forming a photosensitive layer was prepared.
Polymer 1 was synthesized with reference to Japanese Patent No. 3,305,459 and Japanese Patent No. 3,754,745.

The above-mentioned polymer latex was applied to the surface of a substrate made of a 40 μm-thick polyethylene terephthalate film ("a long rolled film manufactured by Fujifilm Corporation") to provide a 0.05 μm-thick undercoat layer. This treatment was carried out by roll-to-roll, and the following treatments (steps) were also carried out by roll-to-roll in the same manner. The roll width at this time was 1 m, and the length was 1000 m.

[Step H1, Step A1, Step I1]
Next, on the undercoat layer, a composition for forming a silver halide-free layer, which is a mixture of the above-mentioned polymer latex and gelatin, and a protective layer, which is a mixture of the above-mentioned composition for forming a photosensitive layer, a polymer latex and gelatin, are applied. The layer-forming composition and the layer-forming composition were simultaneously coated in multiple layers to form a silver halide-free layer, a silver halide-containing photosensitive layer, and a protective layer on the undercoat layer.
The thickness of the silver halide-free layer was 2.0 μm, and the mixture mass ratio of polymer 1 to gelatin in the silver halide-free layer (polymer 1/gelatin) was 2/1. The content of molecule 1 was 1.3 g/ ^m2 .
The thickness of the silver halide-containing photosensitive layer was 2.5 μm, and the mixture mass ratio of polymer 1 to gelatin in the silver halide-containing photosensitive layer (polymer 1/gelatin) was 0.25/1. and the content of polymer 1 was 0.19 g/ ^m2 .
The thickness of the protective layer was 0.15 μm, the mixture mass ratio of polymer 1 to gelatin in the protective layer (polymer 1/gelatin) was 0.1/1, and the content of polymer 1 was The coating density was 0.015 g/ ^m2 .

[Step B1]
The photosensitive layer thus prepared was exposed to parallel light from a high-pressure mercury lamp as a light source through a photomask capable of providing a developed silver image of the test pattern shown in Figure 1. The migration test pattern was a pattern conforming to IPC-TM650 or SM840, with a line width of 50 μm, a space width of 50 μm, and a line number of 17/18 (hereinafter also referred to as a "comb-shaped pattern electrode").
In addition, the above-mentioned photosensitive layer, which was separately prepared, was exposed to parallel light from a high-pressure mercury lamp as a light source through a lattice-shaped photomask (hereinafter, also referred to as a "mesh pattern electrode"). As the photomask, a mask for pattern formation was used, and the line width of the unit square lattice forming the lattice as shown in Figure 2 was set to 1.2 μm, and the length L of one side of the lattice (opening) was set to 600 μm.

After exposure, each sample was developed with a developer described below, and then developed with a fixing solution (product name: N3X-R for CN16X: manufactured by Fujifilm Corporation), rinsed with pure water at 25°C, and then dried to obtain Sample A having a silver-containing layer containing metallic silver formed in a comb pattern, and Sample B having a silver-containing layer containing metallic silver formed in a mesh pattern. In Sample B, a conductive mesh pattern area measuring 21.0 cm x 29.7 cm was formed.

(Composition of Developer)
The following compounds are contained in 1 liter (L) of the developer.
Hydroquinone 0.037 mol/L
N-methylaminophenol 0.016 mol/L
Sodium metaborate 0.140 mol/L
Sodium hydroxide 0.360 mol/L
Sodium bromide 0.031 mol/L
Potassium metabisulfite 0.187 mol/L

Each of the above samples was immersed in warm water at 50°C for 180 seconds. After this, the water was removed with an air shower and the samples were allowed to dry naturally.

[Step C1]
Each sample obtained in step B1 was transferred to a superheated steam treatment tank at 110° C. and left to stand for 30 seconds to perform a superheated steam treatment. The steam flow rate at this time was 100 kg/h.

[Step D1]
Each sample obtained in step C1 was immersed in an aqueous protease solution (40° C.) for 30 seconds. Each sample was removed from the aqueous protease solution and washed by immersing in warm water (liquid temperature: 50° C.) for 120 seconds. Thereafter, the water was removed with an air shower and the sample was naturally dried.
The aqueous protease solution used was prepared according to the following procedure.
Triethanolamine and sulfuric acid were added to an aqueous solution of a protease (Biophrase 30L, manufactured by Nagase ChemteX Corporation) (protease concentration: 0.5% by mass) to adjust the pH to 8.5.

[Step E1]
Each sample obtained in step D1 was immersed for 5 minutes in a plating solution (30° C.) having the following composition. Each sample was removed from the plating solution and immersed in warm water (50° C.) for 120 seconds to be washed.
The plating solution (total volume 1200 ml) had the following composition: The pH of the plating solution was 9.9, which was adjusted by adding a predetermined amount of potassium carbonate (manufactured by FUJIFILM Wako Pure Chemical Industries, Ltd.) The following components used were all manufactured by FUJIFILM Wako Pure Chemical Industries, Ltd.

(Composition of plating solution)
・_AgNO3 2.1g
・86g sodium sulfite
・Sodium thiosulfate pentahydrate 60g
・Aron T-50 (manufactured by Toagosei Co., Ltd., solid content concentration 40%) 36g
・Methylhydroquinone 13g
Potassium carbonate (prescribed amount) Water (remainder)

[Step P1]
Each sample obtained in step E1 was immersed in treatment liquid A (30° C.) for 1 minute. Each sample was removed from treatment liquid A and immersed in water at 30° C. for 30 seconds to be washed. Treatment liquid A (total volume 1200 mL) had the following composition. The following components used were all manufactured by FUJIFILM Wako Pure Chemical Industries, Ltd.
(Composition of Treatment Solution A)
・Diethylammonium diethyldithiocarbamate 2.4g
・Propylene glycol 360g
Water Remainder

[Step G1]
Each sample obtained in step P1 was carried into a superheated steam treatment tank at 110° C. and left to stand for 30 seconds to undergo superheated steam treatment. The steam flow rate at this time was 100 kg/h.

[Examples 2 to 14, Comparative Example 2, Comparative Example 3]
In Examples 2 to 14 and Comparative Examples 2 and 3, Sample A having an interdigital pattern electrode and Sample B having a mesh pattern electrode were prepared according to the procedure described in Example 1, except that in step P1, Treatment Solutions B to S having the compositions shown in Table 1 below were used instead of Treatment Solution A. All of the components of the immersion solutions used were manufactured by FUJIFILM Wako Pure Chemical Industries, Ltd.
For treatment solution N, the specific compound was dissolved, and then sodium hydroxide was added to adjust the pH to 12.

[Comparative Example 1]
Samples A and B were produced according to the procedure described in Example 1, except that step G1 was carried out without carrying out step P1 for each sample obtained in step E1.

[Comparative Example 4]
<Production of Pressure-Sensitive Adhesive Sheet>
21.8 parts by mass of an ester of a maleic anhydride adduct of a polyisoprene polymer and 2-hydroxyethyl methacrylate (product name UC203, manufactured by Kuraray Co., Ltd., molecular weight 36,000), 11.4 parts by mass of polybutadiene (product name Polyvest 110, manufactured by Evonik Degussa Co., Ltd.), 5 parts by mass of dicyclopentenyloxyethyl methacrylate (product name FA512M, manufactured by Hitachi Chemical Co., Ltd.), 20 parts by mass of 2-ethylhexymethacrylate (manufactured by Wako Pure Chemical Industries, Ltd.), 38.8 parts by mass of a terpene-based hydrogenated resin (product name Clearon P-135, manufactured by Yasuhara Chemical Co., Ltd.), and 0.05 parts by mass of diethyldithiocarbamic acid were kneaded in a constant temperature bath at 130° C. using a kneader. Next, the temperature of the thermostatic chamber was adjusted to 80° C., and 0.6 parts by mass of a photopolymerization initiator (trade name Lucirin TPO, manufactured by BASF Corporation) and 2.4 parts by mass of a photopolymerization initiator (trade name IRGACURE184, manufactured by BASF Corporation) were added to the thermostatic chamber and kneaded with a kneader to obtain a pressure-sensitive adhesive composition.
The obtained adhesive composition was applied onto the surface-treated surface of a 75 μm-thick release film (heavy release film) so that the thickness of the adhesive layer formed was 50 μm. The surface-treated surface of a 50 μm-thick release film (light release film) was attached onto the obtained coating film. Using a parallel exposure machine (manufactured by Oak Manufacturing Co., Ltd., model number: EXM-1172B-00), UV light was irradiated to the coating film sandwiched between the release films so that the irradiation energy was 3 J/ ^cm2 , and a double-sided adhesive sheet was obtained.

One of the release films of the double-sided adhesive sheet was peeled off to obtain film B consisting of the other release film (heavy release film) (thickness: 75 μm) and adhesive layer (50 μm). The adhesive layer surface of the obtained film B was attached to the conductive thin wire side of conductive substrates (samples A and B) prepared in the same manner as in Comparative Example 1, to produce samples A and B of Comparative Example 4.

[evaluation]
[Migration test (1)]
The prepared sample A having the comb-shaped pattern electrode described above was placed in a humid and hot atmosphere at 60° C. and 90% RH, wiring was connected to both ends of sample A, and a direct current of 5 V was continuously applied from one side. After each fixed time, sample A was taken out from the atmosphere at 60° C. and 90% RH, and the insulation resistance of sample A was measured using an R8340A manufactured by Advantest Corporation.
Based on the elapsed time from the start of the test and the measured value of the insulation resistance of Sample A, the migration suppression performance of Sample A was evaluated according to the following criteria.

(Migration Test (1) Evaluation Criteria)
"A": The insulation resistance value was 10 ¹⁰ Ω or more even after 500 hours or more had passed since the start of the test.
"B": The insulation resistance value was 10 ¹⁰ Ω or more even after 240 hours or more had passed since the start of the test, but the insulation resistance value decreased to less than 10 ¹⁰ Ω within 500 hours.
"C": The insulation resistance value decreased to less than 10 ¹⁰ Ω within 240 hours after the start of the test.

[Light resistance test]
Using the sample B having the above-mentioned mesh pattern electrode prepared, the evaluation surface was placed facing up and laminated in the following order from top to bottom: glass/OCA/sample B/OCA/polarizing plate 1/OCA/polarizing plate 2 (arranged so that their polarization axes were perpendicular to polarizing plate 1)/black PET, to obtain a laminate.
OCA: Optical adhesive 8146-2 manufactured by 3M Corporation
Black PET: (Panac Corporation, industrial black PET (GPH100E82A04)

Half of the evaluation surface of the obtained laminate was covered with aluminum foil to block light. The laminate was irradiated with a xenon lamp (inner filter: quartz, outer filter: #275) using X75L manufactured by Suga Test Instruments Co., Ltd. for 80 hours under the conditions of 340 nm illuminance of 70 W/ ^m2 , black panel temperature of 30°C, and humidity of 50% RH. Irradiation was performed from the glass surface side (evaluation surface side) of the laminate.
After 80 hours from the irradiation, the aluminum foil was removed, and the gray value was measured for both the light-shielded area that had been shielded by the aluminum foil and the exposed area that had not been shielded from the light and was irradiated with the xenon lamp.

The gray value was measured by the following method. An LED light was irradiated to the glass surface of the laminate at an incidence angle of 8° with an illuminance of 850, and the laminate was observed using a detector from the normal direction of the glass surface. The obtained image was converted to 256 grayscales in black and white using ImageJ to obtain the gray value. The value of the 256 grayscales was corrected using a standard calibration plate each time.
From the thus measured Gray value of the light-shielded portion and the Gray value of the exposed portion, a ΔGray value which is the difference between the two values was calculated, and the light resistance of sample B was evaluated according to the following criteria.
(ΔGray value)=(Gray value of light-shielded portion)−(Gray value of exposed portion)

(Lightfastness Evaluation Criteria)
"A": ΔGray value is less than 10.
"B": ΔGray value is 10 or more and less than 20.
"C": ΔGray value is 20 or more.

When the ΔGray value was less than 10 (evaluation A), the difference in color tone could not be visually confirmed; when the ΔGray value was 10 or more and less than 20 (evaluation B), the difference in color tone could be visually confirmed by irradiating it with a high-brightness LED; and when the ΔGray value was 20 or more (evaluation C), the difference in color tone could be visually confirmed even under fluorescent lighting.

The compositions of the treatment solutions used in step P1, as well as the evaluation results of the migration test (1) and the light resistance test, are shown in Table 1. Note that 2-mercaptobenzimidazole contained in treatment solution H is a proton tautomer of 1H-benzimidazole-2(3H)-thione, and 2-mercapto-5-benzimidazolesodium sulfonate contained in treatment solution S is a proton tautomer of 2,3-dihydro-2-thioxo-1H-benzimidazole-5-sodium sulfonate.
In the table, the column "Specific compound (reference compound)" indicates the type of specific compound or reference compound other than the specific compound added to each processing solution.
In the table, the column "Concentration (mass %)" indicates the content (unit: mass %) of a specific compound or a reference compound relative to the total amount of each treatment liquid.
In the table, the "Solvent (mass ratio)" column indicates the type of solvent contained in each treatment liquid, and when two or more solvents are used, the content ratio (mass ratio) of each solvent is indicated. Note that "PG" stands for propylene glycol, and "DGMEE" stands for diethylene glycol monoethyl ether.

Samples A and B obtained in Examples 1 to 13 were measured using a time-of-flight secondary ion mass spectrometry (TOF-SIMS, manufactured by ION-TOF) equipped with a Bi ion gun (Bi ₃ ⁺⁺ ), and it was confirmed that a specific compound was present in the conductive thin wire.

[Examples 21 to 30, Comparative Example 5]
As Examples 21 to 30 and Comparative Example 5, Sample A having an interdigital pattern electrode was produced according to the procedure described in Example 1, except that in the above step P1, a treatment solution having a composition shown in Table 2 below was used. All of the components of the immersion solutions used were manufactured by FUJIFILM Wako Pure Chemical Industries, Ltd.
For the treatment solutions N and P to R, after the specific compound was dissolved, sodium hydroxide was added to adjust the pH to 12.

[Measurement of the content of specific compounds]
The content of the specific compound (benzotriazole in Comparative Example 5; the same applies below) contained in the conductive thin wire of Sample A was measured by the following method.
The obtained conductive thin wire (width 50 μm) of sample A was cut out together with the substrate to obtain a test piece of a conductive substrate. The obtained test piece was immersed in ethanol and left to stand in a dark place for 10 hours or more, and the specific compound was extracted into ethanol. After removing the test piece from the ethanol solution, the solvent ethanol was removed with a dry _N2 flow to recover the specific compound. After adding DMF (0.2 mL), sodium carbonate-saturated DMF (0.2 mL), and ICH ₃ (0.1 mL) to the recovered specific compound and mixing, the mixture was left to stand in a dark place at room temperature (25 ° C) for 3 hours to perform methyl derivatization of the specific compound.
The standard samples used for the quantification of specific compounds described later were also derivatized with methyl in the same manner, except that sodium 2-mercapto-5-benzimidazole sulfonate and benzotriazole were not methylated.

The sample (above mixture) containing the methyl derivative of the specific compound obtained above was measured by liquid chromatography triple quadrupole mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS method), and the specific compound was quantified by the absolute calibration curve method. For the measurement, a measuring device having a sensitivity higher than 0.04 μg/mL of the quantification lower limit of the methyl derivative was used. For the measurement, an ODS (Octadecyl Silyl) column was used as a separation column. In addition, eluent A: 10 mM ammonium acetate aqueous solution and eluent B: 10 mM ammonium acetate methanol were used as eluents, and the column was eluted with a gradient program in which the concentration (time) of eluent B was 30% (start time (0 minutes)) → 100% (8 minutes) → 100% (12 minutes). The sample injection amount was 2 μL. Atmospheric pressure chemical ionization (APCI) was used as the ion source.
A calibration curve was created from the peak area values obtained by measuring the methyl derivatives of the standard samples by LC-MS/MS. The measurement results of the samples of each Example and Comparative Example were compared with the calibration curve to calculate the content of the specific compound per weight of the test piece of the conductive substrate.

[Migration test (2)]
The prepared sample A having the above-mentioned comb-shaped electrodes was laminated in the order of "glass/OCA/sample A" from the top with the evaluation surface facing up to obtain a laminate. At this time, OCA was attached to locations other than both ends of the comb-shaped electrodes of sample A so that wiring described later could be connected.
OCA: Optical adhesive 8146-2 manufactured by 3M Corporation
The prepared laminate was placed in a humid and hot atmosphere at 60° C. and 90% RH, wiring was connected to both ends of Sample A, and a direct current of 5 V was continuously applied from one side. After each set time, Sample A was taken out from the atmosphere at 60° C. and 90% RH, and the insulation resistance of Sample A was measured using an R8340A manufactured by Advantest Corporation.
Based on the elapsed time from the start of the test and the measured value of the insulation resistance of Sample A, the migration suppression performance of Sample A was evaluated according to the following criteria.

(Migration Test (2) Evaluation Criteria)
"A": The insulation resistance value was 10 ¹⁰ Ω or more even after 300 hours or more had elapsed since the start of the test.
"B": The insulation resistance value was 10 ¹⁰ Ω or more even after 200 hours or more had elapsed since the start of the test, but the insulation resistance value decreased to less than 10 ¹⁰ Ω within 300 hours.
"C": The insulation resistance value decreased to less than 10 ¹⁰ Ω within 200 hours after the start of the test.

Table 2 shows the composition of the treatment solution used in step P1, the adsorption amount of the specific compound or benzotriazole, and the evaluation results of the migration test (2).
In the table, the column "adsorption amount (μg/g)" indicates the content of the specific compound or benzotriazole per weight of the test piece of the conductive substrate of sample A, which is quantified by the above method. The contents of the other columns are the same as those in Table 1.

As shown in Tables 1 and 2, it was confirmed that the conductive substrate of the present invention can achieve the desired effects.

10 conductive substrate 12 base material 12a surface 14, 14B conductive thin wire 20 opening

Claims (12)

A substrate;
A conductive substrate having a conductive thin wire including a metal disposed on the base material,
The conductive substrate contains at least one specific compound selected from the group consisting of a compound represented by the following formula (1), a compound represented by the following formula (2), and a compound represented by the following formula (3) and a proton tautomer thereof.
In formula (1), A represents a hydrogen atom or an organic group.
R ¹ and R ² each independently represent an aliphatic hydrocarbon group which may have a substituent.
R ¹ and R ² may be bonded to each other to form, together with the nitrogen atom bonded to both R ¹ and R ² , a nitrogen-containing heterocycle which may have a substituent.
In formula (2), X ⁿ⁺ represents an n-valent counter ion;
n represents an integer of 1 to 3;
R ¹ and R ² each independently represent an aliphatic hydrocarbon group which may have a substituent.
R ¹ and R ² may be bonded to each other to form, together with the nitrogen atom bonded to both R ¹ and R ² , a nitrogen-containing heterocycle which may have a substituent.
In formula (3), R ³ to R ⁶ each independently represent a hydrogen atom or an organic group.
R ⁴ and R ⁵ may be bonded to each other to form a nitrogen-containing heterocycle which may have a substituent together with the two nitrogen atoms and carbon atom represented in the formula (3).
However, when R ⁴ and R ⁵ are bonded to each other to form the nitrogen-containing heterocycle, R ³ and R ⁶ each independently represent a hydrogen atom or the organic group. In the formula (1) and the formula (2), R ¹ and R ² each independently represent an alkyl group having 1 to 5 carbon atoms which may have a substituent selected from the group consisting of a phenyl group and a hydroxy group;
the nitrogen-containing heterocycle formed by bonding R ¹ and R ² to each other is a nitrogen-containing non-aromatic heterocycle having 5 to 7 ring members and which may have a methyl group or an ethyl group;
The conductive substrate according to claim 1 . The conductive substrate according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the organic group represented by A in the formula (1) is a group represented by the following formula (4):
*-A ¹ -A ² (4)
In formula (4), A ¹ represents a divalent linking group selected from the group consisting of a divalent aliphatic hydrocarbon group having 1 to 5 carbon atoms, a thiocarbonyl group, and a thiocarbonyl sulfide group;
^A2 represents a group selected from the group consisting of a hydrogen atom, a hydroxy group, a carboxy group, an amino group which may have one or two alkyl groups having 1 to 4 carbon atoms, and a phenyl group;
* indicates the position of bonding to the sulfur atom in formula (1). In the formula (1), R ¹ and R ² each independently represent a methyl group or an ethyl group, or are bonded to each other to form a 1-pyrrolidine ring or a 1-piperidine ring together with the nitrogen atom;
A represents a hydrogen atom, a methyl group, an ethyl group, a carboxymethyl group, a benzyl group, a dimethylthiocarbamoyl group, a dimethylthiocarbamoyl sulfide group, a diethylthiocarbamoyl group, or a diethylthiocarbamoyl sulfide group;
The conductive substrate according to any one of claims 1 to 3. In the formula (2), n represents 1, and Xn ⁺ represents a hydrogen ion, a metal ion, or an ammonium ion which may have an aliphatic hydrocarbon group.
The conductive substrate according to any one of claims 1 to 4. In the formula (2), R ¹ and R ² each independently represent a methyl group or an ethyl group, or are bonded to each other to form a 1-pyrrolidine ring or a 1-piperidine ring together with the nitrogen atom;
The X ⁿ⁺ represents a hydrogen ion, a sodium ion, an ammonium ion, a dimethylammonium ion, a diethylammonium ion, or a piperidinium ion, and the n represents 1.
The conductive substrate according to any one of claims 1 to 5. In the formula (3), R ³ to R ⁶ each independently represent a hydrogen atom, an alkyl group having 1 to 5 carbon atoms, an alkylcarbonyl group having 1 to 5 carbon atoms, a phenyl group, a benzyl group, or a cyclohexyl group;
When R ⁴ and R ⁵ are bonded to each other to form the nitrogen-containing heterocycle, the nitrogen-containing heterocycle is an imidazoline ring or imidazolidine ring which may have a methyl group or an ethyl group as a substituent, or a benzimidazoline ring which may have a methyl group, an ethyl group, a methoxy group or an amino group as a substituent, and
At least one of ^R3 and ^R6 represents a hydrogen atom;
The conductive substrate according to any one of claims 1 to 6. The conductive substrate according to any one of claims 1 to 7, wherein in the formula (3), 1 to 3 of R ³ to R ⁶ represent a hydrogen atom, the remainder of R ³ to R ⁶ represent an alkyl group having 1 to 5 carbon atoms, an acetyl group, or a phenyl group, and R ⁴ and R ⁵ are not bonded to each other. the specific compound is contained in at least one of the conductive thin wires and non-conductive portions disposed between the conductive thin wires on the surface of the conductive substrate;
The conductive substrate according to any one of claims 1 to 8. The conductive substrate according to any one of claims 1 to 9, wherein the specific compound is contained in the conductive thin wire. The conductive substrate according to any one of claims 1 to 10, wherein the metal comprises silver. The conductive substrate according to any one of claims 1 to 11, having a mesh pattern formed by the conductive thin wires.