Copper Nanowire Dispersion through an Electrostatic Dispersion Mechanism for High-Performance Flexible Transparent Conducting Films and Optoelectronic Devices

Abstract

Highly dispersed copper nanowire (CuNW) is an essential prerequisite for its practical application in various electronic devices. At present, the dispersion of CuNW is almost realized through the steric hindrance effect of polymers. However, the high post-treatment temperature of polymers makes this dispersion mechanism impractical for many actual applications. Here, after investigating the relationship between the electrostatic dispersion force and influence factors, an electrostatic dispersion mechanism is refined by us. Under the guidance of this mechanism, high dispersion of CuNW and a record low post-treatment temperature (80 °C) are realized simultaneously. The high dispersity endows CuNW with good stability (−45.66 mV) in water-based ink, high uniformity (65.7 ± 2.5 Ω sq −1 ) in the prepared transparent conducting film (TCF) (23 cm × 23 cm), and industrial film preparation process, which are the issues that hinder the widespread application of CuNW-based TCF at present. The low post-treatment temperature makes the application of CuNW possible on any substrate. In addition, the charge modifier, 2-mercaptoethanol, enables CuNW to resist oxidation well. Finally, flexible optoelectronic devices employing the CuNW film as the electrode are fabricated and show efficiencies comparable to those of optoelectronic devices on indium tin oxide/glass.

Uniform Deposition of Silver Nanowires and Graphene Oxide by Superhydrophilicity for Transparent Conductive Films

“…The performance of TCFs on the superhydrophilic antireflective substrates was compared to literature TCFs by standardizing the reported values (Figure E). We have listed their reported transmittance values in Table S1; however it should be noted that their true values may be lower, as the transmittance of coatings often remove substrate reflections as background. ,,− Reported R s values of TCFs composed of graphene or CNTs are typically much lower than those of TCFs composed of individual graphene sheets or nanotubes. This is due to the nature of the percolative network formed, where individual nanotubes cannot be fused together as metal nanowires can, leading to high contact resistance at CNT junctions .…”

“…The sample had a T 550 of 94.9% and a R s of 220 Ω sq –1 . (E) Performance of our TCFs compared to other materials and commercially available TCFs. ,,− …”

Recent Progress on Emerging Transparent Metallic Electrodes for Flexible Organic and Perovskite Photovoltaics

“…A recent work using low-post-treatment CuNWs reported flexible OSCs with a PCE of 8.29%. [203] Besides metal NWs, the utilization of ordered metal meshes/ grids in flexible OSCs has attracted sizable research interests. With the advances in micro-and nanomanufacturing technologies, electrodes based on metal meshes/grids are produced with greater control over the geometry features.…”

Self-Assembly of a Linear Alkylamine Bilayer around a Cu Nanocrystal: Molecular Dynamics

“…Cu nanocrystals are promising materials for catalysis, − conductive ink, , and electrodes in transparent, flexible, and/or stretchable devices, − such as touch screens, flexible displays, photovoltaics, and flexible heaters. In these applications, nanocrystal morphology can significantly impact performance, ,,, which motivates the study of shape-controlled growth.…”