Preparation Of Silver Nanowire Flexible Transparent Electrode By Chemical Welding And Its Application

Flexible transparent electrode(FTE)is one of the key components in many flexible electronics(e.g.,flexible displays,flexible solar cells,and flexible sensors),which needs to be able to work stably under certain deformations(bending,twisting,stretching,and compression).The key factor affecting the performance of FTE is the bending conductivity of the conductive material.Indium tin oxide(ITO)metal oxide films are commonly used for processing transparent electrodes,but they are brittle and easy to break,and are not suitable for FTE processing.Silver nanowire(Ag NW)is simple to synthesize,inexpensive,and has good conductivity.Also,the Ag NWs network has excellent flexibility and is one of the best alternatives to ITO films.Despite the many advantages,Ag NWs networks also suffer from high lap contact resistance and poor thermal stability,making it difficult to achieve the desired conductivity and lifetime.Therefore,the key technology for developing high-performance Ag NWs FTE is to prepare its networks with low contact resistance and high thermal stability.1、The Ag NWs were prepared by the solvothermal method,and the morphology of the synthesized Ag NWs was controlled by using ethylene glycol as the solvent and reducing agent in the preparation of Ag NWs.On this basis,Na Br was introduced as a coordinating control agent to regulate the diameter of Ag NWs,and Ag NWs with different diameters could be obtained after acetone sedimentation,centrifugal cleaning,and membrane filtration.The Ag NWs with a high aspect ratio were subsequently prepared by a more convenient hydrothermal method.2、Ag NWs FTE was prepared by adjusting the wettability of the weld precursor solution on the Ag NWs surface to achieve precise welding of the junctions.This chemical welding process provides nanoscale welding at nanowire cross junctions to form efficient conductive networks.Remarkably,this chemical welding process can be performed quickly at room temperature and ambient conditions,it does not require high energy-consuming equipment.3、The increasing of reduced graphite oxide(r GO)wrapped on the surface of Ag NWs can improve the stability of Ag NWs.The resulting FTEs show a photoelectric figure of merit(Fo M)of 439.3(square resistance 6.5 Ω/sq,transmittance > 88% at 550nm)and excellent bending stability and environmental acidic stability.Based on this chemically welded FTE,a high-performance flexible transparent heater was constructed.The heater can reach up to 160 °C in a short response time(43 s)and achieves excellent switching stability.Based on its electrical and thermal properties,it is expected to be used in the future for flexible,conformable surfaces such as the human body,goggles,and large-area automotive windows.By laminating this FTE on a perovskite solar cell as the top electrode,the resulting double-sided optoelectronic devices achieve a photoelectric conversion efficiency of more than 13% when irradiating light from both the bottom and the top.This research provides a convenient preparation direction for future photovoltaic devices.In summary,this paper optimizes the electrical properties and environmental stability of FTE by in-situ chemical welding and surface covering r GO.This method provides ideas on how to improve the square resistance as well as stability in the emerging FTE and is expected to provide a convenient and tunable method for preparing flexible thermal management devices as well as optoelectronic devices.