Critical work of adhesion for economical patterning of silver nanowire-based transparent electrodes

Ko, Dongwook; Gu, Bongjun; Kang, Seok Ju; Jo, Sungjin; Hyun, Dong Choon; Kim, Jong-Bok

doi:10.1039/c9ta01498e

Cited by 26 publications

(38 citation statements)

References 44 publications

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“…The releasing layer should have adhesive force with silver nanowires weaker than the adhesive force between the UV-curable polymer and silver nanowires for complete detachment of the silver nanowires from the releasing layer. In detail, while the glass substrate has an adhesive force of 169.5 mJ m −2 with the silver-nanowire film having a polar surface energy of 131.3 mJ m −2 and a nonpolar surface energy of 10.3 mJ m −2 , the PMMA surface has an adhesive force of 112.5 mJ m −2 with identical silver-nanowire film [28]. After drying the PMMA-coated glass substrate at 180 • C for 30 s, the silver nanowire solution was spin-coated on it at 600 rpm for 60 s. After drying at 100 • C for 1 min, a silver nanowire network for electron conduction formed on the substrates.…”

Section: Preparation Of Prepolymer Solutions With Different Viscositiesmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…To embed the silver nanowires into a polymer and fabricate silver-nanowire-embedded electrodes, ultraviolet (UV)-curable SU8 or NOA polymers with different viscosities were spin-coated at 250-1000 rpm for 60 s and cured under UV light irradiation for 30 min. Silver nanowires are embedded into UV-curable polymers by a principle of mechanical interlocking during the curing process [26,28]. The delamination of the UV-curable polymer completed the fabrication of silver-nanowire-embedded flexible and transparent electrodes.…”

Section: Preparation Of Prepolymer Solutions With Different Viscositiesmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The delamination of the UV-curable polymer completed the fabrication of silver-nanowire-embedded flexible and transparent electrodes. Due to the low adhesive force of the PMMA-coated surface with silver nanowire, the silver nanowires could be fully detached from the substrate [26,28]. In addition, light scattering was insignificant in the silver-nanowire-embedded transparent electrodes in SU8 or NOA polymers because the electrodes were very flat [26,28].…”

Section: Preparation Of Prepolymer Solutions With Different Viscositiesmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Due to the low adhesive force of the PMMA-coated surface with silver nanowire, the silver nanowires could be fully detached from the substrate [26,28]. In addition, light scattering was insignificant in the silver-nanowire-embedded transparent electrodes in SU8 or NOA polymers because the electrodes were very flat [26,28]. Then, to investigate whether the electrodes were well constructed, their surfaces were observed by SEM (JSM-6500F, Jeol).…”

Section: Preparation Of Prepolymer Solutions With Different Viscositiesmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Because the nanowires form a network inside the polymer, the surface of the electrode is flat, avoiding device shorting. In our previous research, we demonstrated silver nanowires on a flexible film with a root mean squared (RMS) roughness of 8 nm and silver-nanowire-embedded electrodes with an RMS roughness of 1 nm, which improved the reliability of the construction and operation of electronic devices [28]. To embed sharp silver nanowires into a polymer, it is essential to coat a prepolymer with high viscosity on the nanowires and detach it from the substrate after curing.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Thickness Uniformity Dependence on Polymer Viscosity in Silver-Nanowire-Embedded Flexible and Transparent Electrodes

Chae

et al. 2020

Applied Sciences

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We herein report the effect of the viscosity of a prepolymer solution on the thickness uniformity of silver-nanowire-embedded flexible transparent electrodes. We adopted a model system with all the prepolymer solutions possessing identical physical properties except for the viscosity and then explored the most common prepolymer solutions for silver-nanowire-embedded flexible electrodes. In all experiments, single-step spin coating was conducted to coat the prepolymer solution on silver nanowires. We found that the electrodes were thinner for lower viscosity. However, the thickness ratio between the center and edge was comparable (50–60%) and independent of the prepolymer solution viscosity. This indicates that the viscosity does not determine the thickness uniformity, and that the coating method itself is vital to obtain films with uniform thickness. The flexible electrodes were introduced into organic solar cells. Their device performance was comparable regardless of the position of the electrodes and their thickness. This is because the thickness difference of the flexible electrodes did not affect their transmittance significantly. Thus, we conclude that although different coating approaches are needed to obtain flexible electrodes with high uniformity, the performance of optoelectronic devices on silver-nanowire-embedded flexible electrodes is independent of them.

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Section: Preparation Of Prepolymer Solutions With Different Viscositiesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Preparation Of Prepolymer Solutions With Different Viscositiesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Preparation Of Prepolymer Solutions With Different Viscositiesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Preparation Of Prepolymer Solutions With Different Viscositiesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Thickness Uniformity Dependence on Polymer Viscosity in Silver-Nanowire-Embedded Flexible and Transparent Electrodes

Chae

et al. 2020

Applied Sciences

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Low‐Resistant Electrical and Robust Mechanical Contacts of Self‐Attachable Flexible Transparent Electrodes with Patternable Circuits

Hwang

Seong

et al. 2020

Adv Funct Materials

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Flexible, transparent, conductive electrodes are key elements of emerging flexible electronic and energy devices. Such electrodes should form an intimate physical contact with various active components of flexible devices to ensure stable, low-resistant electrical contacts. However, contact formation techniques are based largely on conventional soldering, conductive pastes, mechanical clamping, and thin film deposition. These generally result in damaged, contaminated, bulky, and uncontrollable contact interfaces. A self-attachable, flexible, transparent, and conductive electrode that is based on a distinctive design of regular grid patterns into which bioinspired adhesive architectures and percolating Ag nanowires are integrated is proposed. Based on this integrated design, the proposed electrode forms reliable, low-resistant electrical contacts; strong mechanical adhesive contacts; and ultra-clean, damage-free contact interfaces with active device components by attaching onto the components without using additional conductive pastes, mechanical pressing, or vacuum deposition processes. The contact interfaces of the electrode and device components remain stable even when the electrode is extremely bent. Moreover, specific electronic circuits can be generated on the electrode surface by a selective deposition of Ag nanowires. This enables simple interconnections of diverse electronic components on its surface.

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High‐Resolution and Facile Patterning of Silver Nanowire Electrodes by Solvent‐Free Photolithographic Technique Using UV‐Curable Pressure Sensitive Adhesive Film

et al. 2021

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transparent, and conductive materials, such as poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene)poly(styrenesulfonate) (PEDOT:PSS), [14,15] carbon nanotubes (CNTs), [16,17] and silver nanowires (AgNWs), [18,19] have been developed as alternatives to ITO, for application in next-generation flexible and transparent optoelectronic devices with improved electrical performance, optical transmittance, and flexibility. [20,21] AgNWs are considered the most promising material for FTEs owing to their high optical transparency, high electrical conductivity, inherent mechanical flexibility, and facile solution processability. [22] A high-resolution and facile method for patterning of AgNWs is necessary for applying AgNW FTEs to the fabrication of flexible and transparent optoelectronic devices. Reported methods for patterning AgNW electrodes include shadow-mask printing, [23][24][25] gravure printing, [26,27] reverse-offset printing, [28] laser-ablation processes, [29,30] photolithography using a photoresist (PR), [31][32][33][34][35] and inkjet printing. [36] Shadow-mask printing is used for fine patterning of AgNW electrodes. However, this technique has several drawbacks, including: 1) the use of photolithography methods that require toxic chemicals and a reactive ion etching (RIE) process for fabricating the shadow mask; 2) repeated application of a complex wet or dry etching process whenever the design of the shadow mask is changed; 3) difficulty in fabricating high-resolution shadow masks (i.e., thin films) with a high aspect ratio (length-to-width ratio) because they are easily torn and broken; 4) difficulty in creating shapes with a hole in a closed curve (i.e., 0, 6, P, and O) using shadow masks; and 5) penetration of the AgNW solution by capillary force between the shadow mask and substrate, resulting in low line-edge resolution. Therefore, gravure printing and reverseoffset printing are considered alternative methods for highresolution and large-area patterning of AgNW electrodes using AgNW inks. However, these methods require careful optimization of the correlations among the ink composition, rheological properties, and printing process parameters. Moreover, the printing equipment used for patterning AgNW electrodes is expensive and complex. Further, inkjet printing is a maskfree method that allows direct patterning on various substrates. However, it is difficult to print AgNWs with high aspect ratio Patterning of silver nanowires (AgNWs) used in fabricating flexible and transparent electrodes (FTEs) is essential for constructing a variety of optoelectronic devices. However, patterning AgNW electrodes using a simple, inexpensive, high-resolution, designable, and scalable process remains a challenge. Therefore, herein a novel solvent-free photolithographic technique using a UV-curable pressure sensitive adhesive (PSA) film for patterning AgNWs is introduced. The UV-curable PSA film can be selectively patterned by photopolymerization under UV exposure through a photomask. The AgNWs embedded in the non-photocured adhesive areas of t...

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Critical work of adhesion for economical patterning of silver nanowire-based transparent electrodes

Abstract: A simple, economical, and eco-friendly non-photolithographic patterning process for AgNW-embedded and AgNW-exposed flexible transparent electrodes is developed by controlling the work of adhesion.

Cited by 26 publications

References 44 publications

Thickness Uniformity Dependence on Polymer Viscosity in Silver-Nanowire-Embedded Flexible and Transparent Electrodes

Thickness Uniformity Dependence on Polymer Viscosity in Silver-Nanowire-Embedded Flexible and Transparent Electrodes

Low‐Resistant Electrical and Robust Mechanical Contacts of Self‐Attachable Flexible Transparent Electrodes with Patternable Circuits

High‐Resolution and Facile Patterning of Silver Nanowire Electrodes by Solvent‐Free Photolithographic Technique Using UV‐Curable Pressure Sensitive Adhesive Film

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