Abstract
In this paper, silver nanowires (AgNWs) with a diameter of 40 nm and a length of 45 μm were dispersed into an ethanol solution to prepare AgNW solutions with concentrations of 1, 2, and 3 mg/mL, respectively. The AgNW solutions were then deposited on a glass substrate using spin-coating at 1000, 2000, and 3000 rpm for 45 s, respectively, to prepare transparent electrodes. The results showed that the distribution of AgNWs on the substrate increased in density with the increase in the AgNW solution concentration and the decrease in spin speed. The effect of concentration on the distribution of AgNWs was greater than that of the spin speed. The transmittance of each electrode was between 84.19% and 88.12% at 550 nm, the average sheet resistance was between 20.09 and 358.11 Ω/sq, the highest figure of merit (FoM) was 104.42, and the lowest haze value was 1.48%. The electrode prepared at 1000 rpm with a concentration of 2 mg/mL and that prepared at 3000 rpm with a concentration of 3 mg/mL were very similar in terms of the average sheet resistance, transmittance at 550 nm, FoM, and haze value; thus, these two electrodes could be considered equivalent. The haze value of the electrode was positively correlated with the spin speed at low concentration, but that relationship became inverse as the concentration rose. For the AgNWs used in this experiment with an aspect ratio of 1125, the concentration of the AgNW solution should reach at least 2 mg/mL to ensure that the FoM of the electrode is greater than 35.
Highlights
As technology has been developed, the demand for new high-performance electronic devices has increased
As the conductivity and the transmittance of the AgNW transparent electrode are a pair of internal contradictions, it is very important to balance them by regulating the distribution of AgNWs on the substrate
The electrode prepared at 1000 rpm with a concentration of 2 mg/mL and that prepared at 3000 rpm with a concentration of 3 mg/mL were very similar in terms of the average sheet resistance, which were 35.76 and 34.45 Ω/sq, respectively
Summary
As technology has been developed, the demand for new high-performance electronic devices has increased. ITO has excellent transmittance and electrical conductivities, its poor mechanical flexibility and high cost make it unsuitable for the new generation of flexible electronic devices [8,9]. For this reason, scholars have successively proposed a variety of ITO alternatives, such as carbon nanotubes, graphene, conductive polymers, and metal nanostructures. The optical and electrical properties of the spin-coated AgNW transparent electrode are mainly affected by two factors. Due to the fact that different electronic devices have different requirements on the optical and electrical properties of the electrode, this paper adopted the spin-coating method to prepare AgNW transparent electrodes.
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