Abstract
Silver nanowires (Ag-NWs), which possess a high aspect ratio with superior electrical conductivity and transmittance, show great promise as flexible transparent electrodes (FTEs) for future electronics. Unfortunately, the fabrication of Ag-NW conductive networks with low conductivity and high transmittance is a major challenge due to the ohmic contact resistance between Ag-NWs. Here we report a facile method of fabricating high-performance Ag-NW electrodes on flexible substrates. A 532 nm nanosecond pulsed laser is employed to nano-weld the Ag-NW junctions through the energy confinement caused by localized surface plasmon resonance, reducing the sheet resistance and connecting the junctions with the substrate. Additionally, the thermal effect of the pulsed laser on organic substrates can be ignored due to the low energy input and high transparency of the substrate. The fabricated FTEs demonstrate a high transmittance (up to 85.9%) in the visible band, a low sheet resistance of 11.3 Ω/sq, high flexibility and strong durability. The applications of FTEs to 2D materials and LEDs are also explored. The present work points toward a promising new method for fabricating high-performance FTEs for future wearable electronic and optoelectronic devices.
Highlights
High-performance flexible transparent electrodes (FTEs) with outstanding mechanical and optical properties facilitate the rapid development of wearable electronics and optoelectronics [1]
High-performance Ag-NWs/polymethyl methacrylate (PMMA)/PDMS FTEs were fabricated by the nanosecond pulsed laser nano-welding of Ag-NWs on PMMA/PDMS flexible substrates
The Ag-NWs were welded for resistance reduction and jointed with the PMMA film with high adhesive strength
Summary
High-performance flexible transparent electrodes (FTEs) with outstanding mechanical and optical properties facilitate the rapid development of wearable electronics and optoelectronics [1]. Compared with rigid materials such as silicon and silica, elastic substrates make the devices foldable, twistable, compressible, and stretchable without compromising stability and reliability, allowing for a wide range of applications, including flexible electronic displays, organic light-emitting diodes (OLEDs), solar cells, and electronic skins [2,3,4,5]. FTEs are critical components in the above-mentioned wearable devices to ensure a high-efficiency power supply with low energy consumption. The excellent optical transmittance would replace indium tin oxide (ITO) for next-generation, highly flexible optoelectronic applications, overcoming the drawbacks of time-consuming synthesis, indium requirement, and fragility during stretching and bending. Numerous efforts have been made to develop alternative FTEs, including graphene [6,7,8], nanowires [9,10,11,12], carbon nanotubes (CNTs) [13,14,15], and PEDOT:PSS [16,17,18]
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