Biaxially stretchable transparent conductors that use nanowire networks
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Stretchable transparent conductors are required for flexible and wearable electronics. This study demonstrates biaxially stretchable transparent conductors that use silver nanowire networks. The use of buckled nanowire networks has previously been reported to lend stretchability to the transparent conductor in a single axis. However, a nanowire network that is prestrained and then buckled out-of-plane biaxially shows a deterioration of the electrical conductivity after a single cycle of stretching and releasing the strain uniaxially. This has been attributed to the loss of good electrical contact between the nanowires. By hot pressing the out-of-plane buckled nanowires to obtain an in-plane wavy nanowire network with good wire-to-wire junctions, a biaxially stretchable transparent conductor that maintains good electrical conductivity with stretching up to 10% is demonstrated. The methods of prestraining the nanowire network to achieve out-of-plane buckled nanowires and hot pressing the out-of-plane buckled nanowires to obtain an in-plane wavy nanowire network with fused junctions are expected to be practical for other classes of percolative networks based on one-dimensional (1D) materials used in flexible and stretchable applications.
I. INTRODUCTION
The transparent conductor is a crucial component in various optoelectronic applications such as light-emitting diodes, displays, touch screens, and photovoltaic devices. The conventional material used is a metal oxide such as indium tin oxide (ITO), which exhibits superb electrical and optical properties. However, ITO is brittle which limits its use in flexible and stretchable electronics. Stretchable electronics allows the integration of electronic devices on various types of stretchable substrates and liberates electronics from the conventional stiff silicon wafers. Hence, stretchable electronics realizes, for example, a better human-to-device interface. An increasing demand for stretchable electronics is expected as wearable electronics becomes more ubiquitous in our daily lives, as evident from the growing array of wearable health monitoring systems and wearable infotainment (e.g., Google Smart Watch, Samsung Gear Live, Moto360 smartwatch, Nike Fuelband, Jawbone UP). A display or touch screen (and hence transparent conductor) is often an essential component in such systems. Hence, various flexible/stretchable transparent conductors to substitute ITO need to be investigated. Alternative materials include carbon nanotubes (CNTs),1–11 graphene,12,13 conducting polymers such as Address all correspondence to these authors. a) e-mail: [email protected] b) e-mail: [email protected] DOI: 10.1557/jmr.2014.338 J. Mater. Res., Vol. 29, No. 24, Dec 28, 2014
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poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene):poly(styrene sulfonate) (PEDOT:PSS),14,15 nanowires16–23 and various metal grids.24–28 Stretchable transparent conductors can generally be formed by three different schemes: embedding the electrically conductive materia
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