Flexible silver nanowire transparent conductive films prepared by an electrostatic adsorption self-assembly process

Abstract

In this work, we reported a facile approach to fabricate silver nanowire (AgNW) networks on flexible substrates. Through immersing the modified poly (ethylene terephthalate) with positively charged functional group into the AgNW dispersion with anionic dispersant, a flexible AgNW transparent conductive film was formed by electrostatic adsorption self-assembly process. Even without a post-treatment process, the as-prepared flexible AgNW films exhibited excellent optoelectrical property, low surface roughness and high reliability. It was shown that the insulating dispersant on AgNWs could be effectively removed by an ion bombardment method and then greatly decreased the sheet resistance of AgNW networks. Because of the nature of spontaneous adsorption, this preparation method can be suitable for an arbitrary shaped substrate, which will broaden the application of AgNW conductive films in optoelectronic devices.