“…Fig. 3(a) shows the effect of using IPL exposure on the optical transmittance of the PVB/AgNWs structure, revealing that although the change in transmittance is negligible, haziness increased over a wide range of visible wavelengths and the total transmittance increased slightly 36 . Figure 3 ( a ) Transmittance spectrum of IPL-treated and non-treated pristine PVB/AgNWs, PET/ITO, and PET/IZO films.…”
A conductive, uniform, and ultra-smooth flexible transparent composite film is produced by embedding silver nanowires (AgNWs) into poly(vinyl-butyral) (PVB) without pressure or high-temperature annealing. The adhesion of AgNWs was greatly improved by embedding them in PVB, and surface roughness and sheet resistance (Rs) improvements were achieved through the use of the intense pulsed light (IPL) method, which welds the interconnections among AgNWs in a short time without heat or pressure treatment. The sheet resistance of PVB/AgNWs with the IPL(PAI) composite film reaches 12.6 ohm/sq with a transmittance of 85.7% (at 550 nm); no clear changes in the sheet resistance are observed after a substrate bending and tape test, suggesting excellent flexibility. In the case of PAI, the change in sheet resistance was only 2.6% after a 2,000-bend test, and the resulting bending radius was less than 1 mm. When IPL was exposed to PVB/AgNWs, the figure of merit was 2.36 times higher than that without exposure. Finally, flexible OLEDs using PAI exhibited comparable or higher electroluminescent characteristics than other devices with well-known flexible electrodes—including indium-zinc-oxide on polymer plastic—which is a promising discovery for flexible optoelectronic applications.
“…Fig. 3(a) shows the effect of using IPL exposure on the optical transmittance of the PVB/AgNWs structure, revealing that although the change in transmittance is negligible, haziness increased over a wide range of visible wavelengths and the total transmittance increased slightly 36 . Figure 3 ( a ) Transmittance spectrum of IPL-treated and non-treated pristine PVB/AgNWs, PET/ITO, and PET/IZO films.…”
A conductive, uniform, and ultra-smooth flexible transparent composite film is produced by embedding silver nanowires (AgNWs) into poly(vinyl-butyral) (PVB) without pressure or high-temperature annealing. The adhesion of AgNWs was greatly improved by embedding them in PVB, and surface roughness and sheet resistance (Rs) improvements were achieved through the use of the intense pulsed light (IPL) method, which welds the interconnections among AgNWs in a short time without heat or pressure treatment. The sheet resistance of PVB/AgNWs with the IPL(PAI) composite film reaches 12.6 ohm/sq with a transmittance of 85.7% (at 550 nm); no clear changes in the sheet resistance are observed after a substrate bending and tape test, suggesting excellent flexibility. In the case of PAI, the change in sheet resistance was only 2.6% after a 2,000-bend test, and the resulting bending radius was less than 1 mm. When IPL was exposed to PVB/AgNWs, the figure of merit was 2.36 times higher than that without exposure. Finally, flexible OLEDs using PAI exhibited comparable or higher electroluminescent characteristics than other devices with well-known flexible electrodes—including indium-zinc-oxide on polymer plastic—which is a promising discovery for flexible optoelectronic applications.
“…Song et al . reported that they improved the characteristics of the AgNWs network through a process of irradiating it with intense pulsed light (IPL)27. The surface roughness of the AgNWs/PEDOT: PSS composite film treated with IPL can reach 5.9 nm.…”
Silver nanowires (AgNWs) networks are promising candidates for the replacement of indium tin oxide (ITO). However, the surface roughness of the AgNWs network is still too high for its application in optoelectronic devices. In this work, we have reduced the surface roughness of the AgNWs networks to 6.4 nm, compared to 33.9 nm of the as-deposited AgNWs network through the hot-pressing process, treatment with poly (3,4ethylenedioxythiophene)–poly (styrenesulfanate), and covered with graphene films. Using this method, we are able to produce AgNWs/PEDOT: PSS/SLG composite films with the transmittance and sheet resistance of 88.29% and 30 Ω/□, respectively. The OLEDs based on the AgNWs/PEDOT: PSS/SLG anodes are comparable to those based on ITO anodes.
“…pathways, as shown in Figure 10(b) [27]. Intense-pulsed-light irradiation and the UV-Ozone treatment are also ways to smooth the film without any severe deterioration in the optical performance [22,115].…”
There has been an explosion of interests in using flexible transparent electrodes for nextgeneration flexible electronics, such as touch panels, flexible lighting, flexible solar cells, and wearable sensors. Silver nanowires (AgNWs) are a promising material for flexible transparent electrodes due to high electrical conductivity, optical transparency and mechanical flexibility. Despite many efforts in this field, the optoelectronic performance of AgNW networks is still not sufficient to replace the present material, indium tin oxide (ITO), due to the high junction resistance. Also, the environmental stability and the mechanical properties need enhancement for future commercialization. Many studies have attempted to overcome such problems by tuning the AgNW synthesis and optimizing the film-forming process. In this chapter, we survey recent progresses of AgNWs in flexible electronics by describing both fabrication and applications of flexible transparent AgNW electrodes. The synthesis of AgNWs and the fabrication of AgNW electrodes will be demonstrated, and the performance enhanced by various methods to suit different applications will be also discussed. Finally, technical challenges and future trends are presented for the application of transparent electrodes in flexible electronics.
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