Fused silver nanowires with metal oxide nanoparticles and organic polymers for highly transparent conductors.
Silver nanowire (AgNW) networks are promising candidates to replace indium-tin-oxide (ITO) as transparent conductors. However, complicated treatments are often required to fuse crossed AgNWs to achieve low resistance and good substrate adhesion. In this work, we demonstrate a simple and effective solution method to achieve highly conductive AgNW composite films with excellent optical transparency and mechanical properties. These properties are achieved via sequentially applying TiO(2) sol-gel and PEDOT:PSS solution to treat the AgNW film. TiO(2) solution volume shrinkage and the capillary force induced by solvent evaporation result in tighter contact between crossed AgNWs and improved film conductivity. The PEDOT:PSS coating acts as a protecting layer to achieve strong adhesion. Organic photovoltaic devices based on the AgNW-TiO(2)-PEDOT:PSS transparent conductor have shown comparable performance to those based on commercial ITO substrates.
Department of Materials Science & Engineering, University of California, Los Angeles, California 90095, United States.
Rui
R
Zhu
Choong-Heui
CH
Chung
Kitty C
KC
Cha
Wenbing
W
Yang
Yue Bing
YB
Zheng
Huanping
H
Zhou
Tze-Bin
TB
Song
Chun-Chao
CC
Chen
Paul S
PS
Weiss
Gang
G
Li
Yang
Y
Yang
D004553:Electric Conductivity; D046911:Macromolecular Substances / Q000737:chemistry; D008422:Materials Testing; D008968:Molecular Conformation; D049329:Nanostructures / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000648:ultrastructure*; D011137:Polystyrenes / Q000737:chemistry*; D012031:Refractometry; D012834:Silver / Q000737:chemistry*; D013499:Surface Properties; D013876:Thiophenes / Q000737:chemistry*; D014025:Titanium / Q000737:chemistry*
D046911:Macromolecular Substances; D011137:Polystyrenes; D013876:Thiophenes; C533756:poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene)-poly(styrenesulfonate); C009495:titanium dioxide; D012834:Silver; D014025:Titanium