Conductive adhesive

A conductive adhesive comprising metal powder as a conductive medium and only a one-component epoxy thermosetting resin composition as a binder resin component, wherein

• the metal powder is silver powder or mixed metal powder comprising silver powder mixed with a small quantity of other metal powder,
• wherein the ratio of the silver powder to the entire metal powder is selected to be at least within the range of 70% or more in a volume ratio,
• said one-component epoxy thermosetting resin composition is a composition comprising only epoxy thermosetting resin as a resin component therefor, which composition is a liquid composition comprising, as essential components:
• (a) an epoxy resin component containing at least a multifunctional epoxy compound having a polycyclic aromatic ring skeleton as a main component therein, and
• (b) a cyclic acid anhydride having an acid anhydride moiety constituting a ring structure in the molecule as a curing agent,
• in a ratio of 0.7 to 1.1 equivalents of the cyclic acid anhydride of the curing agent (b) with respect to the epoxy equivalent of the epoxy resin component (a),
• the adhesive is a dispersion in which the metal powder is dispersed in said one-component epoxy thermosetting resin composition with a content ratio of the metal powder to the binder resin component (metal:resin volume ratio) being selected within a range between 34:66 and 55:35,
• wherein said cyclic acid anhydride having an acid anhydride moiety constituting a ring structure in the molecule is a cyclic acid anhydride having another hydrocarbon ring skeleton fused with the ring structure constituted by the acid anhydride moiety, in which
• said another hydrocarbon ring skeleton that is fused with the ring structure constituted by the acid anhydride moiety is a structure in which two or more chain-like hydrocarbon groups are substituted on the ring, or a polycyclic structure having cross-link chains on the ring, and
• the total number of carbon atoms composing the structure of said another hydrocarbon ring skeleton including the chain-type hydrocarbon groups is 8 or more.