Rapid fabrication of high-performance transparent electrodes by electrospinning of reactive silver ink containing nanofibers

Conductive Nanofiber Web Film with Polydimethylsiloxane Sidewalls Selectively Coated through a Plasma Process for High Performance Flexible Transparent Electrodes

Transparent electrodes are commonly used in various applications, such as solar cells, touch screens, smart windows, wearable electronic devices, and rollable flexible displays. Currently, indium tin oxide (ITO) is widely used as a transparent electrode material. However, ITO is not suitable for next-generation transparent electrodes that require flexibility; therefore, alternative nanomaterials, such as carbon nanotubes, conductive polymers, and metal nanowires, are being studied. However, these nanomaterials have poor mechanical strength and limited substrate availability. In this study, we developed a high-performance transparent electrode web film fabrication process based on conductive nanofibers, in which metal nanofibers are semiembedded in polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS). The mechanical strength of the conductive nanofibers was improved through the PDMS coating on the entire surface of the film, and the semiembedded structure of the nanofibers was realized using the reactive ion etching (RIE) process. In this study, we confirmed through transparency/conductivity analysis and bending, cycle, and taping tests that the transparent electrode fabricated using our approach has excellent mechanical strength and conductivity. Finally, the transparent electrode fabricated using our method can be widely applied as a next-generation transparent electrode because the process is easy and simple and requires inexpensive equipment and materials.

All-atmospheric fabrication of Ag-Cu core-shell nanowire transparent electrodes with Haacke figure of merit >600 × 10-3 Ω-1

Transparent conducting electrodes (TCEs) are essential components in devices such as touch screens, smart windows, and photovoltaics. Metal nanowire networks are promising next-generation TCEs, but best-performing examples rely on expensive metal catalysts (palladium or platinum), vacuum processing, or transfer processes that cannot be scaled. This work demonstrates a metal nanowire TCE fabrication process that focuses on high performance and simple fabrication. Here we combined direct and plating metallization processes on electrospun nanowires. We first directly metallize silver nanowires using reactive silver ink. The silver catalyzes subsequent copper plating to produce Ag-Cu core-shell nanowires and eliminates nanowire junction resistances. The process allows for tunable transmission and sheet resistance properties by adjusting electrospinning and plating time. We demonstrate state-of-the-art, low-haze TCEs using an all-atmospheric process with sheet resistances of 0.33 Ω sq^-1 and visible light transmittances of 86% (including the substrate), leading to a Haacke figure of merit of 652 × 10^-3 Ω^-1. The core-shell nanowire electrode also demonstrates high chemical and bending durability.