Effect of supersonic spraying impact velocity on opto-electric properties of transparent conducting flexible films consisting of silver nanowire, ITO, and polyimide multilayers

Abstract

We demonstrate the use of supersonic spraying for the deposition of silver nanowires (AgNWs) on a flexible polyimide (PI) substrate for the formation of transparent and conducting films (TCF) as an alternative to nonflexible ITO (indium tin oxide). The self-fused intersections of the NWs resulted in films with a low sheet resistance (R-s = 31 Omega/sq) and fairly high transmittance (Tr = 92%) on a glass substrate. The effect of the impact speed of the supersonically sprayed AgNWs on the opto-electric properties of the flexible TCF was evaluated by varying the spray coating conditions. The fabricated films were characterized by X-ray diffraction analysis, atomic force microscopy, ultraviolet-visible spectroscopy, and scanning electron microscopy. Finally, cyclic bending tests were performed on the PI/AgNWfilms as well as PI/ZnO/indium tin oxide/AgNW films, and the changes in their electrical properties with bending were compared. (c) 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.