Tetrabutylammonium Tribromide-Induced Synthesis of Silver Nanowires with Ultrahigh Aspect Ratio for a Flexible Transparent Film.

Abstract

Silver nanowires (AgNWs) have gained significant attention from researchers as a promising material for producing flexible transparent conductive films, which can be utilized in touch and display screens. Thereinto, the ultrahigh aspect ratio AgNW network can theoretically decrease the contact resistance effectively while still retaining considerable mechanical and optical properties. However, fabrication of high-quality AgNWs with a fine diameter and high aspect ratio is still challenging. Herein, a simple and robust approach to synthesize ultrahigh aspect ratio AgNWs is presented. This study successfully fabricated AgNWs with the highest aspect ratio up to ∼4000 and an average length of ∼72 μm by utilizing tetrabutylammonium tribromide as an auxiliary additive. The manifestation of tetrabutylammonium tribromide was proven to be beneficial for the generation of silver seeds and the expansion of AgNWs. The obtained AgNWs were utilized to create a transparent conductive film that showed low sheet resistance of 22.4 Ω/sq and high transmittance and low haze of 87.71 and 4.15%, respectively. The transmittance and haze of the vacant poly(ethylene terephthalate) support were 90.13 and 2.05%, thereby offering great potential for application in flexible transparent electrodes.