Facile fabrication of stretchable Ag nanowire/polyurethane electrodes using high intensity pulsed light

Abstract

Silver nanowires (AgNWs) have emerged as a promising nanomaterial for next generation stretchable electronics. However, until now, the fabrication of AgNWbased components has been hampered by complex and time-consuming steps. Here, we introduce a facile, fast, and one-step methodology for the fabrication of highly conductive and stretchable AgNW/polyurethane (PU) composite electrodes based on a high-intensity pulsed light (HIPL) technique. HIPL simultaneously improved wire–wire junction conductivity and wire–substrate adhesion at room temperature and in air within 50 μs, omitting the complex transfer–curing–implanting process. Owing to the localized deformation of PU at interfaces with AgNWs, embedding of the nanowires was rapidly carried out without substantial substrate damage. The resulting electrode retained a low sheet resistance (high electrical conductivity) of <10 Ω/sq even under 100% strain, or after 1,000 continuous stretching–relaxation cycles, with a peak strain of 60%. The fabricated electrode has found immediate application as a sensor for motion detection. Furthermore, based on our electrode, a light emitting diode (LED) driven by integrated stretchable AgNW conductors has been fabricated. In conclusion, our present fabrication approach is fast, simple, scalable, and costefficient, making it a good candidate for a future roll-to-roll process.