Assembly of silver nanowires and PEDOT:PSS with hydrocellulose toward highly flexible, transparent and conductivity-stable conductors

Abstract

• Flexible and transparent conductor film was assembled via an integration strategy. • The CRC-film exhibited super-stable conductivity even in harsh environments. • The CRC-film-based strain sensor was demonstrated. Improving the conductivity stability of flexible conductors has a positive impact on the working performance and service life of portable electronic devices. However, designing a conductor material with both conductivity-stable and flexible performance is still not an easy task because of the conductive network damage under large deformation or high humidity conditions. Here, we surmount this challenge by developing an interfacial assembly/encapsulation integration strategy for the construction of flexible, transparent, and conductivity-stable film. Under the synergistic effect of coordination complexation and hydrogen bonding, silver nanowires (AgNWs) are sandwiched encapsulated by regenerated cellulose film (as flexible substrate) and poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene)-poly(styrene sulfonate) (PEDOT:PSS) nanosheets (as sealing coat). The resulting hybrid film has a robust interfacial structure and prominently stable properties. Even when subjected to harsh condition such as a high-moisture environment of 90% relative humidity and 65 °C temperature for up to 60 days, repeated bending for 500 times, peeling over 400 times or soaking in water for 30 days, the film still exhibits a high and stable conductivity, better than most previously reported values for AgNWs-based films. With this strategy as base, we demonstrate a flexible, transparent and biocompatible strain-to-electricity sensor with high working stability and performance.