Buckle-Delamination-Enabled Stretchable Silver Nanowire Conductors

Area of Science:

• Materials Science
• Mechanical Engineering
• Nanotechnology

Background:

• Controlled buckling and delamination of thin films on compliant substrates are crucial for advanced applications.
• Stretchable electronics and bioengineering demand robust, highly conductive materials.

Purpose of the Study:

• To fabricate a highly conductive and stretchable conductor using silver nanowires and a polymer composite film.
• To investigate the mechanics of buckle-delamination for strain reduction in nanomaterials.
• To demonstrate the utility of the developed stretchable conductor in practical devices.

Main Methods:

• Fabrication of a polymer composite film with embedded silver nanowires on a prestretched elastomer substrate.
• Controlled release of prestrain to induce buckle-delamination and wavy geometry formation.
• Development of a theoretical model to predict buckle-delamination evolution.
• Experimental characterization of electrical resistance under strain.

Main Results:

• A partially delaminated wavy geometry was successfully created, leading to uniform blister distribution.
• The conductor exhibited less than 3% resistance change even at 100% applied strain.
• The theoretical model accurately predicted the geometrical evolution observed in experiments.

Conclusions:

• Mechanics-based design is vital for developing high-performance nanomaterial-enabled stretchable devices.
• The developed silver nanowire/elastomer conductor offers exceptional stretchability and conductivity.
• The study demonstrates potential applications in stretchable sensors and thermochromic devices.