Effective electrode length enhances electrical activation of nanowire networks: experiment and simulation

Networks comprised of randomly oriented overlapping nanowires offer the possibility of simple fabrication on a variety of substrates, in contrast with the precise placement required for devices with single or aligned nanowires. Metal nanowires typically have a coating of surfactant or oxide that prevents aggregation, but also prevents electrical connection. Prohibitively high voltages can be required to electrically activate nanowire networks, and even after activation many nanowire junctions remain nonconducting. Nonelectrical activation methods can enhance conductivity but destroy the memristive behavior of the junctions that comprise the network. We show through both simulation and experiment that electrical stimulation, microstructured electrode geometry, and feature scaling can all be used to manipulate the connectivity and thus electrical conductivity of networks of silver nanowires with a nonconducting polymer coating. More generally, these results describe a strategy to integrate nanomaterials into controllable, adaptive macroscale materials.