Silver Nanowire Network Hybridized with Silver Nanoparticle-Anchored Ruthenium Oxide Nanosheets for Foldable...

Facile strategies in flexible transparent conductive electrode materials that can sustain their electrical conductivities under 1 mm-scale radius of curvature are required for wider applications such as foldable devices. We propose a rational design as well as a fabrication process for a silver nanowire-based transparent conductive electrode with low sheet resistance and high transmittance even after prolonged cyclic bending. The electrode is fabricated on a poly(ethylene terephthalate) film through the hybridization of silver nanowires with silver nanoparticles-anchored RuO₂ nanosheets. This hybridization significantly improves the performance of the silver nanowire network under severe bending strain and creates an electrically percolative structure between silver nanowires and RuO₂ nanosheets in the presence of anchored silver nanoparticles on the surface of RuO₂ nanosheets. The resistance change of this hybrid transparent conductive electrode is 8.8% after 200,000 bending cycles at a curvature radius of 1 mm, making it feasible for use in foldable devices.