Stability Enhancement of Silver Nanowire Patterns by Transferring Process

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.