Highly Transmittance, Mechanical, Thermally Stable Silver Nanowires Network Using ZnO Nanoparticles

This research addresses challenges with silver nanowires (Ag NWs) as transparent conductive electrodes (TCEs) and heaters in commercial devices. Here, zinc oxide nanoparticles (ZnO NPs) are first reported as a protective layer for Ag NWs. Multi-physics simulations confirm enhanced thermal stability due to improved heat dissipation, temperature distribution, and thermal conductivity from ZnO. When Ag NWs are surrounded by air, heat transfers mainly through convection and radiation because of air's low conduction coefficient. Encasing Ag NWs in ZnO enhances heat transfer to the ZnO surface, accelerating cooling and dissipating more heat into the atmosphere via convection. The results show composite's efficiency in the Joule effect, maintaining a consistent temperature of 78 °C for 700 s after 500 bending cycles, a significant improvement over Ag NWs operating for only 5 s at 80 °C. Additionally, the composite film exhibited exceptional performance, including a sheet resistance of 9.8 Ω sq^-1 and an optical transmittance of 96.96 %, outperforming Ag NWs, which have a sheet resistance of 12 Ω sq^-1 and a transmittance of 94.11%. The combination of enhanced electrical, thermal, and mechanical stability, along with impressive optical properties, makes Ag NWs/ZnO NPs a promising candidate for transparent conductive electrode materials in various applications.