Optically Programmable Plateau–Rayleigh Instability for High-Resolution and Scalable Morphology Manipulation of Silver Nanowires for Flexible Optoelectronics

Abstract

The ability to engineer microscale and nanoscale morphology upon metal nanowires (NWs) has been essential to achieve new electronic and photonic functions. Here, this study reports an optically programmable Plateau−Rayleigh instability (PRI) to demonstrate a facile, scalable, and high-resolution morphology engineering of silver NWs (AgNWs) at temperatures <150 °C within 10 min. This has been accomplished by conjugating a photosensitive diphenyliodonium nitrate with AgNWs to modulate surface-atom diffusion. The conjugation is UV-decomposable and able to form a cladding of molten salt-like compounds, so that the PRI of the AgNWs can be optically programmed and triggered at a much lower temperature than the melting point of AgNWs. This PRI self-assembly technique can yield both various novel nanostructures from single NW and largearea microelectrodes from the NW network on various substrates, such as a nanoscale dot-dash chain and the microelectrode down to 5 μm in line width that is the highest resolution ever fabricated for the AgNW-based electrode. Finally, the patterned AgNWs as flexible transparent electrodes were demonstrated for a wearable CdS NW photodetector. This study provides a new paradigm for engineering metal micro-/nanostructures, which holds great potential in fabrication of various sophisticated devices.

Sensitive, Stretchable, and Breathable Pressure Sensors Based on Medical Gauze Integrated with Silver Nanowires and Elastomers

“…The resistance and conductivity of the gauze are 45 Ω and 1.2 S/cm, respectively (Supporting Information, SI, Figure S1). Notability, since the hydrogen bonding between HPMC and the gauze surface provided strong adhesion to keep the AgNWs from falling off, the resulting conductive gauze performs with great stability. ,, SI Figure S2 shows the resistances of AgNWs coated gauze and AgNWs-HPMC coated gauze, respectively. It is found that the AgNWs-HPMC coated gauze displayed a negligibly small change in resistance after ultrasonication for 30 min.…”

Characterization of Silver Nanowire-Based Transparent Electrodes Obtained Using Different Drying Methods

“…Since the initial AgNW films contained a large amount of solvent and exhibited poor conductivity, they were dried using three different methods, namely, thermal drying, room-temperature drying, and vacuum drying. Thermal drying was conducted at 50 °C, 80 °C, and 100 °C or 120 °C for 1 min, which are typical temperatures for fabricating silver nanowire-based electrodes to avoid Plateau-Rayleigh instability [ 27 , 28 , 29 , 30 , 31 , 32 ]. Room-temperature drying and vacuum drying were conducted for 5, 10, 20, and 30 min at room temperature and low pressure using a desiccator and low-pressure vacuum pump, respectively.…”

Patterning of Metal Nanowire Networks: Methods and Applications

“…In addition to a laser, other energy sources such as cold plasma could also be used to pattern MNWs; in the plasma scanned area MNWs are transformed into disconnected nanoparticles. − Recently, a facile and versatile approach capable of selectively triggering a Plateau-Rayleigh instability of AgNWs has been reported to create multiscale structures . The AgNWs were first conjugated with a photosensitive diphenyliodonium nitrate (DPIN) and spin-coated on the substrate.…”

“…93−95 Recently, a facile and versatile approach capable of selectively triggering a Plateau-Rayleigh instability of AgNWs has been reported to create multiscale structures. 96 The AgNWs were first conjugated with a photosensitive diphenyliodonium nitrate (DPIN) and spin-coated on the substrate. With a shadow mask, the DPIN-conjugated AgNWs could decompose under UV irradiation due to the Plateau-Rayleigh instability, resulting in the breakup of AgNWs to form an insulating area.…”