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Recently, active research has been conducted on the development of flexible electronic devices. Hence, the transparent conductive film (TCF), an essential component of the device, must also be flexible. However, the commonly used indium tin oxide (ITO) TCF lacks flexibility and contains rare metal, making resource depletion an issue. Therefore, we focused on poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene)/poly(styrenesulfonate) (PEDOT:PSS), which has high flexibility and conductivity. Flexible TCFs have been fabricated by coating PEDOT:PSS on polyethylene naphthalate substrates using an inkjet printer. However, the current issue in such fabrication is the effect of the interface state on the transparency and conductivity of the thin film. In this study, we investigated the effect of surfactant in addition to polar solvents on the properties of thin films fabricated with PEDOT:PSS ink. Although the electrical conductivity was reduced, the transmittance remained above 90%. Thus, these results are comparable to those of ITO TCFs for practical use in terms of optical properties.

HighlightsA transparent, conductive, and flexible metal mesh film has been developed by a low-cost, uniform self-forming crackle template and electroplating strategy.The Cu mesh films show an ultra-low sheet resistance (0.18 Ω □−1), high transmittance (85.8%@550 nm), high figure of merit (> 13,000), excellent stretchability and mechanical stability.The metal mesh film can be used as a flexible heater and electromagnetic interference shielding film (40.4 dB at 2.5 μm).Despite the growing demand for transparent conductive films in smart and wearable electronics for electromagnetic interference (EMI) shielding, achieving a flexible EMI shielding film, while maintaining a high transmittance remains a significant challenge. Herein, a flexible, transparent, and conductive copper (Cu) metal mesh film for EMI shielding is fabricated by self-forming crackle template method and electroplating technique. The Cu mesh film shows an ultra-low sheet resistance (0.18 Ω □−1), high transmittance (85.8%@550 nm), and ultra-high figure of merit (> 13,000). It also has satisfactory stretchability and mechanical stability, with a resistance increases of only 1.3% after 1,000 bending cycles. As a stretchable heater (ε > 30%), the saturation temperature of the film can reach over 110 °C within 60 s at 1.00 V applied voltage. Moreover, the metal mesh film exhibits outstanding average EMI shielding effectiveness of 40.4 dB in the X-band at the thickness of 2.5 μm. As a demonstration, it is used as a transparent window for shielding the wireless communication electromagnetic waves. Therefore, the flexible and transparent conductive Cu mesh film proposed in this work provides a promising candidate for the next-generation EMI shielding applications.

Silver nanowires, which have high optoelectronic properties, have the potential to supersede indium tin oxide in the field of electrocatalysis, stretchable electronic, and solar cells. Herein, four mainstream experimental methods, including Mayer–rod coating, spin coating, spray coating, and vacuum filtration methods, are employed to fabricate transparent conductive films based on the same silver nanowires to clarify the significance of preparation methods on the performance of the films. The surface morphology, conductive property, uniformity, and flexible stability of these four Ag NW-based films, are analyzed and compared to explore the advantages of these methods. The transparent conductive films produced by the vacuum filtration method have the most outstanding performance in terms of surface roughness and uniformity, benefitting from the stronger welding of NW-NW junctions after the press procedure. However, limited by the size of the membrane and the vacuum degree of the equipment, the small-size Ag films used in precious devices are appropriate to obtain through this method. Similarly, the spin coating method is suited to prepare Ag NWs films with small sizes, which shows excellent stability after the bending test. In comparison, much larger-size films could be obtained through Mayer-rod coating and spray coating methods. The pull-down speed and force among the Mayer-rod coating process, as well as the spray distance and traveling speed among the spray coating process, are essential to the uniformity of Ag NW films. After being treated with NaBH4 and polymethyl methacrylate (PMMA), the obtained Ag NW/PMMA films show great potential in the field of film defogging due to the Joule heating effect. Taken together, based on the advantages of each preparation method, the Ag NW-based films with desired size and performances are easier to prepare, meeting the requirements of different application fields.

Printed electronics on flexible substrates has attracted tremendous research interest research thanks its low cost, large area production capability and environmentally friendly advantages. Optimal characteristics of silver nanoparticles (Ag NPs) based inks are crucial for ink rheology, printing, post-print treatment, and performance of the printed electronics devices. In this review, the methods and mechanisms for obtaining Ag NPs based inks that are highly conductive under moderate sintering conditions are summarized. These characteristics are particularly important when printed on temperature sensitive substrates that cannot withstand sintering of high temperature. Strategies to tailor the protective agents capping on the surface of Ag NPs, in order to optimize the sizes and shapes of Ag NPs as well as to modify the substrate surface, are presented. Different (emerging) sintering technologies are also discussed, including photonic sintering, electrical sintering, plasma sintering, microwave sintering, etc. Finally, applications of the Ag NPs based ink in transparent conductive film (TCF), thin film transistor (TFT), biosensor, radio frequency identification (RFID) antenna, stretchable electronics and their perspectives on flexible and printed electronics are presented.

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·ml −1 hydroxypropyl methylcellulose (HPMC), 4.12 mg·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 Ω 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 × 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 °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.

Silver nanowire (AgNWs) inks for inkjet printing were prepared and the effects of the solvent system, wetting agent, AgNWs suspension on the viscosity, surface tension, contact angle between ink droplet and poly(ethylene) terephthalate (PET) surface, and pH value of AgNWs ink were discussed. Further, AgNWs flexible transparent conductive films were fabricated by using inkjet printing process on the PET substrate, and the effects of the number printing layer, heat treatment temperature, drop frequency, and number of nozzle on the microstructures and photoelectric properties of AgNWs films were investigated in detail. The experimental results demonstrated that the 14-layer AgNWs printed film heated at 60 °C and 70 °C had an average sheet resistance of 13 Ω∙sq−1 and 23 Ω∙sq−1 and average transparency of 81.9% and 83.1%, respectively, and displayed good photoelectric performance when the inkjet printing parameters were set to the voltage of 20 V, number of nozzles of 16, drop frequency of 7000 Hz, droplet spacing of 15 μm, PET substrate temperatures of 40 °C and nozzles of 35 °C during printing, and heat treatment at 60 °C for 20 min. The accumulation and overflow of AgNWs at the edges of the linear pattern were observed, which resulted in a decrease in printing accuracy. We successfully printed the heart-shaped pattern and then demonstrated that it could work well. This showed that the well-defined pattern with good photoelectric properties can be obtained by using an inkjet printing process with silver nanowires ink as inkjet material.

Transparent electromagnetic interference (EMI) shielding is highly desired in specific visual scenes, but the challenge remains in balancing their EMI shielding effectiveness (SE) and optical transmittance. Herein, this study proposed a directionally aligned silver nanowire (AgNW) network construction strategy to address the requirement of high EMI SE and satisfactory light transmittance using a rotation spraying technique. The orientation distribution of AgNW is induced by centrifugal inertia force generated by a high‐speed rotating roller, which overcomes the issue of high contact resistance in random networks and achieves high conductivity even at low AgNW network density. Thus, the obtained transparent conductive film achieved a high light transmittance of 72.9% combined with a low sheet resistance of 4.5 Ω sq−1 and a desirable EMI SE value of 35.2 dB at X band, 38.9 dB in the K‐band, with the highest SE of 43.4 dB at 20.4 GHz. Simultaneously, the excellent conductivity endowed the film with outstanding Joule heating performance and defogging/deicing ability, ensuring the visual transparency of windows when shielding electromagnetic waves. Hence, this research presents a highly effective strategy for constructing an aligned AgNW network, offering a promising solution for enhancing the performance of optical‐electronic devices. A novel rotation spraying technique with centrifugal inertia inducing effect is used to construct an oriented alignment AgNW network, that reveals a 72.9% transmittance, a 4.5 Ω sq−1 sheet resistance, and a desirable EMI shielding with the highest SE of 43.4 dB at 20.4 GHz, simultaneously shows an outstanding Joule heating and defogging ability to ensure the visual transparency when shielding electromagnetic waves.

Silver nanowire transparent conductive films (AgNW TCFs), as a promising new generation of transparent electrode materials poised to replace ITO, have long been plagued by inadequate optoelectronic performance. Herein, flash lamp sintering was used to facilitate rapid welding of TCFs, and the effects of process parameters and TCFs' characteristics on the sintering outcomes were investigated. The leveraging of millisecond-scale intense light pulses of flash lamp sintering can achieve the rapid welding of AgNWs, thereby enhancing the optoelectronic performance of TCFs. The TCFs fabricated from 30 nm diameter AgNWs with an initial sheet resistance of 111 Ω/sq exhibited a reduced sheet resistance of 57 Ω/sq post-sintering, while maintaining a transmittance of 93.3%. The quality factor increased from 4.56 × 10 to 9.09 × 10 Ω , and the surface roughness decreased from 6.12 to 5.19 nm after sintering. This work holds significant promise for advancing the continuous production of AgNW TCFs using flash lamp sintering technology, potentially paving the way for high-quality, low-cost, and rapid manufacturing of AgNW TCFs.

We demonstrate the fabrication of highly transparent conductive networks on a cellulose nanofiber paper, called cellulose nanopaper. Uniform coating of the conductive nanomaterials, such as silver nanowires (AgNWs) and carbon nanotubes, is achieved by simple filtration of their aqueous dispersions through the cellulose nanopaper, which acts as both filter and transparent flexible substrate. The as-prepared AgNW networks on the nanopaper offer sheet resistance of 12 Ω sq. −1 with optical transparency of 88%, which is up to 75 times lower than the sheet resistance on a polyethylene terephthalate film prepared by conventional coating processes. These results indicate that the ‘filtration coating’ provides uniformly connected conductive networks because of drainage in the perpendicular direction through paper-specific nanopores, whereas conventional coating processes inevitably cause self-aggregation and uneven distribution of the conductive nanomaterials because of the hard-to-control drying process, as indicated by the well-known coffee-ring effect. Furthermore, the conductive networks are embedded in the surface layer of the nanopaper, showing strong adhesion to the nanopaper substrate and providing foldability with negligible changes in electrical conductivity. This filtration process is thus expected to offer an effective coating approach for various conductive materials, and the resulting transparent conductive nanopaper is a promising material for future paper electronics. Paper electronics: Silver lining Paper has been used throughout history for numerous purposes and continues to be extremely useful. The cellulose-based material has even been investigated as a support for flexible electronics. Traditional paper, however, does not provide the transparency that is increasingly sought after in this field. Now, Hirotaka Koga, Masaya Nogi and co-workers from Osaka University, Japan, have coated a type of transparent paper that they previously developed with conductive materials. Their paper is based on cellulose nanofibers rather than the microfibers from which traditional paper is composed. The team used silver nanowires or carbon nanotubes as the conductive material—both show promise in transparent flexible electronics that employ plastic substrates. By depositing the silver or carbon on the ‘cellulose nanopaper’ through a simple filtration process, the researchers obtained uniform networks, thus avoiding the uneven distribution that typically occurs with plastic-based substrates. The resulting flexible materials showed good conductivity and optical transparency. Highly transparent and strongly adhesive conductive networks embedded in the surface of cellulose nanofiber paper are prepared by a simple filtration coating process. As-prepared transparent conductive paper shows sheet resistance of 12 Ω sq. −1 with specular transmittance of 88%, which is up to 75 times lower than the sheet resistance on a polyethylene terephthalate film prepared by conventional coating processes. In addition, the transparent conductive paper is folded with negligible changes in electrical conductivity, opening new doors for future paper electronics.