Based on dry blending method to control the micro-cracks morphology of metal film on flexible template

Abstract

Using 500 nm SiO2 nanoparticles as a filler and polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) as a polymer coated with nanoparticles, a novel dry blending method was used to prepare the SiO2/PDMS flexible template with SiO2 nanoparticles as high as 83.8wt%. The flexible template has an elastic modulus (E) of 16.58 MPa and a thermal expansion coefficient (CTE) of 96×10−6/°C, compared with the pure PDMS flexible template by direct incorporation of SiO2 and PDMS in wet blending, which increases by 91.56% and decreases by 69.23%, respectively. The flexible template has good transparency. Finally, a silver film was deposited on the surface of the flexible template by magnetron sputtering, and the surface morphology of the silver film was characterized by SEM and AFM. The results show that the surface of the silver thin film is smooth and the roughness is small, the silver thin film has good stability. Effectively suppression the micro-cracks formation of metal film on the flexible template prepared by the dry blending provides a new solution for the manufacture of good conductivity electrodes and large-area metal film.