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Updated: Nov 4, 2025

A Fabrication Method for Highly Stretchable Conductors with Silver Nanowires
Published on: January 21, 2016
Conductance-strain behavior in silver-nanowire composites: network properties of a tunable strain sensor
Tomke E Glier1, Marie Betker1, Benjamin Grimm-Lebsanft1
1Institut für Nanostruktur- und Festkörperphysik, Center for Free Electron Laser Science (CFEL), Universität Hamburg, Luruper Chaussee 149, D-22761, Hamburg, Germany.
Abstract:
Highly flexible and conductive nano-composite materials are promising candidates for stretchable and flexible electronics. We report on the strain-resistance relation of a silver-nanowire photopolymer composite during repetitive stretching. Resistance measurements reveal a gradual change of the hysteretic resistance curves towards a linear and non-hysteretic behavior. Furthermore, a decrease in resistance and an increase in electrical sensitivity to strain over the first five stretching cycles can be observed. Sensitivity gauge factors between 10 and 500 at 23% strain were found depending on the nanowire concentration and stretching cycle. We model the electrical behavior of the investigated silver nanowire composites upon repetitive stretching considering the strain induced changes in the local force distribution within the polymer matrix and the tunnel resistance between the nanowires by using a Monte Carlo method.
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