Crack-Templated Wire-Like Semitransparent Electrodes with Unique Irregular Patterns

The development of novel methods of producing transparent electrodes is important because of thei r ever-evolving applications and thus the additional parameters they must meet. In this work, we present a method of manufacturing semitransparent si l v e r electrodes. This technique involves cracking the polyvinylpyrrolidone layer in the presence of a colloidal nanodispersion of zinc oxide. The resulting cracked polymer layer serves as the disposable mask for metal deposition. The whole procedure is valuable due to the fast and easy step of cracks formation caused by the elevated temperature and reduced pressure. The obtained electrodes have high transparency (82.4%) in a wide spectral range, which is only limited by the transparency of the applied substrate, and low resist i v i t y (27.3 x 10-7 omega m). The presence of unique patterns suggests new ideas for the applications of such electrodes, such as coding, secu r i t y , and antiplagiarism protection.

Automated summary

The development of novel methods for producing transparent electrodes is important for their widespread applications. In this study, a technique for manufacturing semitransparent silver electrodes is presented, which involves cracking a polymer layer with the presence of a colloidal nanodispersion of zinc oxide. The resulting electrodes have high transparency and low resistivity, and the presence of unique patterns suggests potential applications in coding, security, and antiplagiarism protection.