Abstract
The enhancement of electrical and optical properties in transparent conducting electrodes has attracted significant interest for their application in flexible electronic devices. Herein, a method for the fabrication of transparent conducting films is proposed. In this approach, RuO2 nanosheets are synthesized by a simple chemical exfoliation method and deposited as conducting films by repeated Langmuir–Blodgett coating. For enhancing the electrical and optical properties of the films, ultraviolet-ozone irradiation is applied between the repeated coatings for the removal of residual organic materials from the chemically exfoliated nanosheets. We observe that by applying ultraviolet-ozone irradiation for 30 min, the sheet resistance of the films decreases by 10% and the optical transmittance is simultaneously enhanced. Facile ultraviolet-ozone irradiation is shown to be an effective and industrially friendly method for enhancing the electrical and optical properties of oxide nanosheets for their application as transparent conduction electrodes.
Highlights
Over the past decades, transparent conducting electrodes (TCEs) have played a significant role in developing electronic and optoelectronic devices, such as solar cells [1,2], thin-film transistors [3], and field emission displays [4]
The sheet resistance of the five-layered nanosheet coating films increased by 10% in comparison with the normal films owing to the removal of the residual organic materials via UVO exposure
It seems that a 10% reduction in sheet resistance is relatively small
Summary
Transparent conducting electrodes (TCEs) have played a significant role in developing electronic and optoelectronic devices, such as solar cells [1,2], thin-film transistors [3], and field emission displays [4]. Low-dimensional materials, such as Ag nanowires (NWs) and graphene, have recently been researched to replace traditional TCE materials, i.e., indium-tin-oxide (ITO) thin films, owing to their possible advantages, such as higher electrical conductivity and optical transmittance and improved flexibility. Ruthenium (Ru)-based oxide (RuO2 ) nanosheets (NSs) were suggested as a promising candidate for their application in flexible TCEs owing to their ability to exhibit relatively high electrical conductivity and optical transmittance [10,11,12,13]. Research on methods for decreasing the contact resistance becomes crucial for increasing the possibility of industrial applications of RuO2 NSs. we propose a facile treatment that can improve the electrical contact and percolation between oxide NSs during the fabrication of transparent and electrically conducting RuO2 NS films by removing the residual organic materials from their surface. RuO2 NSs, ultraviolet-ozone (UVO) irradiation was executed, and it was found that this industrially friendly, easy process significantly improved the sheet resistance Rs of the fabricated multilayer films of the RuO2 NSs, as well as their optical transmittance
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