Silver Nanowire Percolation Network Soldered with Graphene Oxide at Room Temperature and Its Application for Fully Stretchable Polymer Light-Emitting Diodes

TLDR: The preparation of a transparent conductive electrode (TCE) based on a silver nanowire (AgNW) percolation network modified with graphene oxide (GO) enables the GO sheets to wrap around and solder the AgNW junctions and thus dramatically reduce the inter-nanowire contact resistance without heat treatment or high force pressing.

Abstract: Transparent conductive electrodes with high surface conductivity, high transmittance in the visible wavelength range, and mechanical compliance are one of the major challenges in the fabrication of stretchable optoelectronic devices. We report the preparation of a transparent conductive electrode (TCE) based on a silver nanowire (AgNW) percolation network modified with graphene oxide (GO). The monatomic thickness, mechanical flexibility, and strong bonding with AgNWs enable the GO sheets to wrap around and solder the AgNW junctions and thus dramatically reduce the inter-nanowire contact resistance without heat treatment or high force pressing. The GO-soldered AgNW network has a figure-of-merit sheet resistance of 14 ohm/sq with 88% transmittance at 550 nm. Its storage stability is improved compared to a conventional high-temperature annealed AgNW network. The GO-soldered AgNW network on polyethylene terephthalate films was processed from solutions using a drawdown machine at room temperature. When bent to...