title: Large-Area Cross-Aligned Silver Nanowire Electrodes for Flexible, Transparent, and Force-Sensitive Mechanochromic Touch Screens.
abstract: Silver nanowire (AgNW) networks are considered to be promising structures for use as flexible transparent electrodes for various optoelectronic devices. One important application of AgNW transparent electrodes is the flexible touch screens. However, the performances of flexible touch screens are still limited by the large surface roughness and low electrical to optical conductivity ratio of random network AgNW electrodes. In addition, although the perception of writing force on the touch screen enables a variety of different functions, the current technology still relies on the complicated capacitive force touch sensors. This paper demonstrates a simple and high-throughput bar-coating assembly technique for the fabrication of large-area (>20 × 20 cm2), highly cross-aligned AgNW networks for transparent electrodes with the sheet resistance of 21.0 Ω sq-1at 95.0% of optical transmittance, which compares favorably with that of random AgNW networks (sheet resistance of 21.0 Ω sq-1at 90.4% of optical transmittance). As a proof of concept demonstration, we fabricate flexible, transparent, and force-sensitive touch screens using cross-aligned AgNW electrodes integrated with mechanochromic spiropyran-polydimethylsiloxane composite film. Our force-sensitive touch screens enable the precise monitoring of dynamic writings, tracing and drawing of underneath pictures, and perception of handwriting patterns with locally different writing forces. The suggested technique provides a robust and powerful platform for the controllable assembly of nanowires beyond the scale of conventional fabrication techniques, which can find diverse applications in multifunctional flexible electronic and optoelectronic devices.
authors.affiliation: Department of Energy and Chemical Engineering, Ulsan National Institute of Science and Technology (UNIST) , Ulsan Metropolitan City 689-798, Republic of Korea.
authors.forename: Seungse
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Cho
authors.affiliation: Department of Energy and Chemical Engineering, Ulsan National Institute of Science and Technology (UNIST) , Ulsan Metropolitan City 689-798, Republic of Korea.
authors.forename: Saewon
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Kang
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemistry, Duke University , Durham, North Carolina 27708, United States.
authors.forename: Ashish
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Pandya
authors.affiliation: Department of Energy and Chemical Engineering, Ulsan National Institute of Science and Technology (UNIST) , Ulsan Metropolitan City 689-798, Republic of Korea.
authors.forename: Ravi
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Shanker
authors.affiliation: Department of Energy and Chemical Engineering, Ulsan National Institute of Science and Technology (UNIST) , Ulsan Metropolitan City 689-798, Republic of Korea.
authors.forename: Ziyauddin
authors.identifier: 0000-0002-8242-7547
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Khan
authors.affiliation: Department of Energy and Chemical Engineering, Ulsan National Institute of Science and Technology (UNIST) , Ulsan Metropolitan City 689-798, Republic of Korea.
authors.forename: Youngsu
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Lee
authors.affiliation: Department of Energy and Chemical Engineering, Ulsan National Institute of Science and Technology (UNIST) , Ulsan Metropolitan City 689-798, Republic of Korea.
authors.forename: Jonghwa
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Park
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemistry, Duke University , Durham, North Carolina 27708, United States.
authors.forename: Stephen L
authors.identifier: 0000-0002-8810-0369
authors.initials: SL
authors.lastname: Craig
authors.affiliation: Department of Energy and Chemical Engineering, Ulsan National Institute of Science and Technology (UNIST) , Ulsan Metropolitan City 689-798, Republic of Korea.
authors.forename: Hyunhyub
authors.identifier: 0000-0003-2111-6101
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Ko
keywords: aligned silver nanowire; bar-coating; force-sensitive touch screen; mechanochromic; transparent conductive electrodes