Metal Nanowire Networks: The Next Generation of Transparent Conductors

• Published in: Advanced materials (Weinheim) 2014-10, Vol.26 (39), p.6670-6687
• Main Authors: Ye, Shengrong, Rathmell, Aaron R., Chen, Zuofeng, Stewart, Ian E., Wiley, Benjamin J.
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Coating; Conductors; Indium tin oxide; metal nanowires; Nanowires; Networks; Organic light emitting diodes; Solar cells; solution-phase coating; solution-phase synthesis; Transmittance; transparent conductors
• ISSN: 0935-9648; 1521-4095
• DOI: 10.1002/adma.201402710

There is an ongoing drive to replace the most common transparent conductor, indium tin oxide (ITO), with a material that gives comparable performance, but can be coated from solution at speeds orders of magnitude faster than the sputtering processes used to deposit ITO. Metal nanowires are currently the only alternative to ITO that meets these requirements. This Progress Report summarizes recent advances toward understanding the relationship between the structure of metal nanowires, the electrical and optical properties of metal nanowires, and the properties of a network of metal nanowires. Using the structure–property relationship of metal nanowire networks as a roadmap, this Progress Report describes different synthetic strategies to produce metal nanowires with the desired properties. Practical aspects of processing metal nanowires into high‐performance transparent conducting films are discussed, as well as the use of nanowire films in a variety of applications. Metal nanowires are the first alternative to indium tin oxide (ITO) that can be coated from solution and achieve opto­electronic performance that exceeds that of ITO. This Progress Report gives a timely overview of how to synthesize and process nanowires to create films with a high transmittance and low sheet resistance, and how to use these films to make touch screens, organic light‐emitting diodes (OLEDs), and solar cells.