Abstract
Nanopaper prepared from holocellulose pulp is one of the best substrates for flexible electronics because of its high thermal resistance and high clear transparency. However, the clearness of nanopaper decreases with increasing concentration of the starting cellulose nanofiber dispersion—with the use of a 2.2 wt % dispersion, for example—resulting in translucent nanopaper with a high haze of 44%. To overcome this problem, we show that the dilution of this high-concentration dispersion with water followed by sonication for 10 s reduces the haze to less than 10% while maintaining the high thermal resistance of the nanopaper. Furthermore, the combination of water dilution and a short sonication treatment improves the clearness of the nanopaper, which would translate into cost savings for the transportation and storage of this highly concentrated cellulose nanofiber dispersion. Finally, we demonstrate the improvement of the electrical conductivity of clear transparent nanopaper prepared from an initially high-concentration dispersion by dropping and heating silver nanowire ink on the nanopaper. These achievements will pave the way toward the realization of the mass production of nanofiber-based flexible devices.
Highlights
3–15-nm-wide cellulose nanofibers were prepared by mechanical nanofibrillation from alkali-treated holocellulose pulps or 2,2,6,6-tetramethylpiperidine-1-oxyl (TEMPO)-oxidized cellulose pulps [1,2]
Flexible electronics based on cellulose nanopaper have been developed, including transparent electrodes, organic solar cells, transistors, antenna, and memory devices [6,7,8,9,10,11,12,13,14,15,16,17,18]
Transparent cellulose nanopaper is considered a promising substrate for future flexible devices
Summary
3–15-nm-wide cellulose nanofibers were prepared by mechanical nanofibrillation from alkali-treated holocellulose pulps or 2,2,6,6-tetramethylpiperidine-1-oxyl (TEMPO)-oxidized cellulose pulps [1,2] Aqueous dispersions of these cellulose nanofibers were dried to prepare films with high optical transparency and low haze [3,4] called “transparent nanopaper”. The nanopaper remained lightweight with a high foldability similar to the properties of conventional paper Given these advantages, flexible electronics based on cellulose nanopaper have been developed, including transparent electrodes, organic solar cells, transistors, antenna, and memory devices [6,7,8,9,10,11,12,13,14,15,16,17,18]. Transparent cellulose nanopaper is considered a promising substrate for future flexible devices
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