Facile fabrication of stretchable Ag nanowire/polyurethane electrodes using high intensity pulsed light

Abstract

Silver nanowires (AgNWs) have emerged as a promising nanomaterial for next generation stretchable electronics. However, until now, the fabrication of AgNWbased components has been hampered by complex and time-consuming steps. Here, we introduce a facile, fast, and one-step methodology for the fabrication of highly conductive and stretchable AgNW/polyurethane (PU) composite electrodes based on a high-intensity pulsed light (HIPL) technique. HIPL simultaneously improved wire-wire junction conductivity and wire-substrate adhesion at room temperature and in air within 50 μs, omitting the complex transfer-curing-implanting process. Owing to the localized deformation of PU at interfaces with AgNWs, embedding of the nanowires was rapidly carried out without substantial substrate damage. The resulting electrode retained a low sheet resistance (high electrical conductivity) of <10 Ω/sq even under 100% strain, or after 1,000 continuous stretching-relaxation cycles, with a peak strain of 60%. The fabricated electrode has found immediate application as a sensor for motion detection. Furthermore, based on our electrode, a light emitting diode (LED) driven by integrated stretchable AgNW conductors has been fabricated. In conclusion, our present fabrication approach is fast, simple, scalable, and costefficient, making it a good candidate for a future roll-to-roll process.

Nanomaterial-based stretchable and transparent electrodes

“…In addition, the random network of AgNWs has shown outstanding mechanical deformability, such as flexibility and stretchability, originating from its inherent percolation structure, with excellent thermal and chemical stability [12,13]. The fabrication of AgNW-based stretchable and transparent electrodes has been achieved through various solution processes, including Meyer rod coating, filtration, spin coating, and Resistance increased by ∼ 440% (ε = 100%) [90] spray coating, which are desirable compared to the vacuum evaporation processes in terms of process cost and scalability [14][15][16][17].…”

“…Therefore, numerous research efforts have been made to reduce the surface roughness of AgNW-based stretchable transparent electrodes while maintaining their excellent optical and electrical properties. This has been achieved mainly by embedding AgNWs in elastomeric polymer substrates [6,17,18,20,21]. For example, AgNWs can be embedded in a polyurethane film by illuminating high-intensity light onto pre-coated AgNWs, inducing localized deformation of polyurethane, as shown in Figure 1(a) [17].…”

Direction-dependent stretchability of AgNW electrodes on microprism-mediated elastomeric substrates

“…5 Notably, for display applications, electrodes should exhibit a stable conductivity of at least 10%-30% strain; 6 Several exotic candidates have been applied as electrode materials to achieve this task, such as metal thin films, carbon nanotubes, graphene, and metal nanowires (NWs). [7][8][9][10][11][12][13][14] Recently, metal NW-based electrodes deliver better performance than the other materials owing to its flexible nature at a macroscopic scale. 14 Silver nanowires (AgNWs) and AgNWs polymer composites offer enhanced performance in stretchable electrode applications; however, their activity entirely depends on the tedious fabrication process.…”

“…[7][8][9][10][11][12][13][14] Recently, metal NW-based electrodes deliver better performance than the other materials owing to its flexible nature at a macroscopic scale. 14 Silver nanowires (AgNWs) and AgNWs polymer composites offer enhanced performance in stretchable electrode applications; however, their activity entirely depends on the tedious fabrication process. [15][16][17] In general, electrode materials are deposited on the buckling structures or vertical waviness created on polymer substrates, which sustain the cracks under strain.…”

3D Multifunctional Composites Based on Large‐Area Stretchable Circuit with Thermoforming Technology

“…Carbon nanomaterials, such as carbon nanotubes and carbon nanofibers, have received dominant attention for the creation of intelligent composites. Through materials and structure innovation, [7] the circuits become stretchable, deformable, and conformable to curvilinear surfaces, [8][9][10] enabling a spectrum of applications such as stretchable sensors and actuators, [11][12][13][14] transparent conductors, [15,16] lighting, [17][18][19] and energy devices. [3][4][5][6] However, these composites are restricted to (piezo) resistive effect based sensing capabilities from the included nanomaterials.…”