Transparent Conductive Films Based on Silver Nanowires and SiO₂ Nanoparticles for Flexible Electronics

Abstract

Silver nanowires (AgNWs) are becoming ideal materials for preparing flexible transparent conductive films (TCFs) due to their excellent properties. The high stability of AgNW-based TCFs is promising yet remains challenging. Herein, a simple and efficient interface assembly strategy is introduced via the top-down spray transfer assembly to enhance interface bonding, resulting in semiembedded TCFs using high-aspect-ratio AgNWs and monodisperse nanosilica microspheres (SiO 2 NPs) with the help of a thiol-ene click-based polyurethane acrylate (PUA) optical coating. The organic−inorganic composite antireflection film composed of SiO 2 NPs and PUA coating solves the problem of poor adhesion and uneven distribution of AgNWs on the substrate by electrostatic adsorption. The addition of SiO 2 NPs was shown to improve the connectivity of AgNWs, thus achieving high transparency and sheet resistance at lower AgNWs spray rates (sheet resistance of 13.4 Ω/sq, light transmittance of 93.9%). Indeed, the TCFs introduced in this study outperform the majority of existing metal oxide or AgNW-based TCFs, retaining the flexibility of AgNWs while possessing the high adhesion, stability, and conductivity uniformity of metal oxide-based TCFs. They are expected to replace traditional metal oxide nanoconductive materials with high brittleness and cost, playing a pivotal role in devices such as flexible displays.