Abstract

Nanomechanical characteristics of standalone silver nanowires (Ag NWs) are a key issue for providing a failure criterion of advanced flexible electrodes that are trending towards smaller radius of curvatures (ROCs). Through in-situ tensile and buckling tests of pentagonal Ag NWs, we demonstrated that the intrinsic fracture strain provides a significant criterion to predict the mechanical and electrical failure of Ag NW electrodes under various strain modes, because the decrease in fracture strain limits figure of merit of flexible devices. The Ag NW electrodes on a polymer substrate exhibited a strain-dependent electrical failure owing to the unique deformation characteristics with a size-dependent brittle-to-ductile transition of the five-fold twinned Ag NWs. All the Ag NWs greater than approximately 40 nm in diameter exhibited brittle fracture with a size-independent stress-strain response under tensile and buckling modes, which leads to the electrical failure of flexible electrodes at the almost same threshold ROC. Meanwhile, the higher ductility of Ag NWs less than 40 nm in diameter resulted in much smaller threshold ROCs of the electrodes due to the highly extended fracture strains, which can afford a high degree of freedom for highly flexible devices.

Highlights

  • Of standalone Ag NWs and by relating them with the electrical deformation of the electrode films under tensile bending strain

  • Nanomechanical characteristics of Ag NWs are investigated by in-situ tensile and buckling tests of the standalone Ag NWs with five-fold twinned boundaries and the results were compared with the electrical properties measured on the electrode films

  • The Ag NWs and indium tin oxide (ITO) films exhibit a large difference in ΔR/Ro with increasing ROC

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Summary

Results and Discussion

In this respect, the thinner Ag NWs provide a high structural tolerance for the FD applications due to the higher intrinsic fracture strain than thicker Ag NWs. From the nanomechanical and electrical characteristics of a five-fold Ag NW, we suggested a failure criterion that can evaluate the conductive electrodes of FDs under various stress modes. The relationship of the mechanical behavior of Ag NWs and the electrical properties of electrodes will provide a high structural tolerance for designing FD applications

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