Electromagnetic interference shielding performance enhancement of stretchable transparent conducting silver nanowire networks with graphene encapsulation

Abstract

Silver nanowire (AgNW) networks are promising transparent conducting materials for electromagnetic interference (EMI) shielding and diverse optoelectronic devices. However, the poor contact between adjacent AgNWs leads to low electrical conductivity and weak mechanical stability of AgNW networks, which are limiting the practical application of these electronics. Here, we report an efficient strategy to improve the overall performance of AgNW networks, in which the AgNW networks are sandwiched between two layers of graphene films. The graphene films improve the contact of overlapped AgNWs and bridge the discrete AgNWs and thus increase the conductivity of graphene/AgNWs/graphene (GAG) films. Microwave permittivity measurements together with mechanism analyses reveal that the graphene films can enhance the EMI shielding effectiveness of AgNW networks through offering extra conduction loss, multiple dielectric polarization centers and multi-reflection processes. As a result, the GAG film with an average transmittance of 88% exhibits a sheet resistance lower than 15 Ω sq−1 and an EMI shielding effectiveness of 31 dB (in the frequency range of 8.2–12.4 GHz) after repeated stretching and release at a strain of 40%. Such a total performance is superior to that of most of as-reported transparent conductors. The GAG films therefore show application potential in the age of Internet of Things that electromagnetic radiation pollutions are everywhere.