Poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene):polystyrene sulfonate-free silver nanowire/single walled carbon nanotube transparent electrodes using graphene oxide

Abstract

Poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene):polystyrene sulfonate (PEDOT:PSS) is often used in transparent electrodes as a transparent conductive polymer, however encapsulation away from atmospheric water is often required. Here, we fabricate transparent, flexible silver nanowire (AgNW):single walled carbon nanotube (SWCNT) electrodes using graphene oxide (GO), mitigating the use of PEDOT:PSS. These GO/AgNW:SWCNT electrodes were found to be highly conductive with a sheet resistance of 2.2 Ω/□–5.9 Ω/□ and a work function of ~ 4.8 eV. The optical transmittance was 75.00 ± 0.02% with a haze value of 21.8 ± 0.8%. The figure of merit was shown to be comparable to indium tin oxide (ITO), at 297 Ω− 1. Finally, the electrodes were shown to be flexible with no reduction in conductivity after 1000 bend cycle/cycles. These PEDOT:PSS free electrodes have the potential to replace rigid commercial ITO electrodes in applications that require flexible, highly conductive transparent electrodes.