Sprayed Hybrid Cellulose Nanofibril-Silver Nanowire Transparent Electrodes for Organic Electronic Applications

Abstract

In times of climate change and resource scarcity, researchers are aiming to find sustainable alternatives to synthetic polymers for the fabrication of biodegradable, eco-friendly, and, at the same time, high-performance materials. Nanocomposites have the ability to combine several favorable properties of different materials in a single device. Here, we evaluate the suitability of two kinds of inks containing silver nanowires for the fast, facile, and industrial-relevant fabrication of two different types of cellulose-based silver nanowire electrodes via layer-by-layer spray deposition only. The Type I electrode has a layered structure, which is composed of a network of silver nanowires sprayed on top of a cellulose nanofibrils layer, while the Type II electrode consists of a homogeneous mixture of silver nanowires and cellulose nanofibrils. A correlation between the surface structure, conductivity, and transparency of both types of electrodes is established. We use the Haacke figure of merit for transparent electrode materials to demonstrate the favorable influence of cellulose nanofibrils in the spray ink by identifying Type II as the electrode with the lowest sheet resistance (minimum 5 ± 0.04 Ω/sq), while at the same time having a lower surface roughness and shorter fabrication time than Type I. Finally, we prove the mechanical stability of the Type II electrode by bending tests and its long-time stability under ambient conditions. The results demonstrate that the mixed spray ink of silver nanowires and cellulose nanofibrils is perfectly suitable for the fast fabrication of highly conductive organic nanoelectronics on an industrial scale.