Facile fabrication of large-scale silver nanowire transparent conductive films by screen printing

Abstract

Silver nanowire transparent conductive films (AgNW TCFs) were facilely prepared by screen printing conductive ink on a polyethylene terephthalate (PET) substrate, and the effects of ink compositions and oily stencil on the optoelectrical properties of AgNW TCFs were investigated in detail. 7.3 mg·ml−1 hydroxypropyl methylcellulose (HPMC), 4.12 mg·ml−1 AgNWs and 98T oily stencil allow the preparation of large-scale AgNW TCFs with high transmittance, low square resistance and high uniformity. The resultant screen printed AgNW TCFs possesses a sheet resistance as low as 13.0 ± 0.6 Ω sq−1, a transmittance of about 95.3% at 550 nm wavelength (deducting the background) and a haze of 3.86 (deducting the background), and can achieve a surface root mean square roughness of 3.33 nm, a film size of 15 × 20 cm2 and personalized pattern by means of the screen printing process. The transparent film heater (TFH) constructed by AgNW TCFs can rise to a usable temperature of 55 °C at a low voltage of 4 V within 80 s. This process provides a simple strategy for fabricating uniform, patterned and large size AgNW TCFs for various devices.