Facile fabrication of large-scale silver nanowire transparent conductive films by screen printing

Silver nanowire transparent conductive films (AgNW TCFs) were facilely prepared by screen printing conductive ink on a polyethylene terephthalate (PET) substrate, and the effects of ink compositions and oily stencil on the optoelectrical properties of AgNW TCFs were investigated in detail. 7.3 mg center dot ml(-1) hydroxypropyl methylcellulose (HPMC), 4.12 mg center dot ml(-1) AgNWs and 98T oily stencil allow the preparation of large-scale AgNW TCFs with high transmittance, low square resistance and high uniformity. The resultant screen printed AgNW TCFs possesses a sheet resistance as low as 13.0 +/- 0.6 omega sq(-1), a transmittance of about 95.3% at 550 nm wavelength (deducting the background) and a haze of 3.86 (deducting the background), and can achieve a surface root mean square roughness of 3.33 nm, a film size of 15 x 20 cm(2) and personalized pattern by means of the screen printing process. The transparent film heater (TFH) constructed by AgNW TCFs can rise to a usable temperature of 55 degrees C at a low voltage of 4 V within 80 s. This process provides a simple strategy for fabricating uniform, patterned and large size AgNW TCFs for various devices.

Automated summary

Silver nanowire transparent conductive films (AgNW TCFs) were prepared by screen printing conductive ink on a PET substrate, and the effects of ink compositions and oily stencil on the optoelectrical properties of AgNW TCFs were investigated. The resulting AgNW TCFs exhibited low sheet resistance, high transmittance, and high uniformity, and could be patterned and personalized through the screen printing process.