Stability Enhancement of Silver Nanowire Patterns by Transferring Process

Abstract

Silver nanowires (AgNWs) need to be patterned for using as transparent conductive electrodes (TCEs) in most electronic devices. Herein we propose a versatile technique which can fabricate AgNW patterns with enhanced adhesion to the substrate of polyethylene glycol terephthalate (PET). By using spin-coating, AgNWs were self-assembled into patterns on the surface of polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) which had been patterned with high contrast of wettability by UV/O-3 exposure. To enhance the adhesion of AgNWs to substrate, the patterned AgNWs were embedded into epoxy resin (EPR) by a facile transferring process. The key to this process is the anti-adhesive groups (CH3) grafted on the oxidized PDMS to assist a clean exfoliation. The AgNW-EPR composite electrode exhibits excellent stability under adhesive tape test and long-term storage.