Highly Conductive, Bendable, Embedded Ag Nanoparticle Wire Arrays Via Convective Self-Assembly: Hybridization into Ag Nanowire Transparent Conductors

The optoelectrical properties of Ag nanowire (NW) networks are improved by incorporating the NWs into highly conductive ordered arrays of Ag nanoparticle wires (NPWs) fabricated via surfactant-assisted convective self-assembly. The NPW–NW hybrid conductor displays a transmittance (T) of 90% at 550 nm and a sheet resistance (R s) of 5.7 Ω sq−1, which is superior to the corresponding properties of the NW network showing a R s of 14.1 Ω sq−1 at a similar T. By the modified wettability of a donor substrate and the capillarity of water, the sintered NPW–NW hybrid conductors are perfectly transferred onto an UV-curable photopolymer film, and the embedded hybrid conductors exhibit excellent electromechanical properties. The R s and T of the NPW arrays can be predicted by using a simple model developed to calculate the width and height of the hexagonal close-packed particles formed during the convective self-assembly. The numerical analysis reveals that the maximum Haacke figure of merit of the NW networks is increased considerably from 0.0260 to 0.0407 Ω−1 by integration with the NPW array. The highly conductive NPW arrays generated using a simple, low-cost, and nonlithographic process can be applied to enhancing the performances of other transparent conductors, such as carbon nanotubes, metal oxides, and graphenes.