npj Flexible Electronics ( IF 12.3 ) Pub Date : 2024-05-07 , DOI: 10.1038/s41528-024-00314-2 Chu Qin , Qingyin Sun , Yu Chen , Shah Fahad , Jiaxin Wu , Yuxuan Dong , Hongyu Yu , Min Wang
The flexibility and stability of transparent electrodes play a crucial role in the growing popularity of flexible devices, especially in potential wearable electronics. To date, various solution-coating techniques have been developed for fabricating silver nanowire (AgNW) flexible bioelectronics. However, achieving the orderly distributed patterns of AgNW without undesirable aggregations still poses a grand challenge. Here, an approach to realize regular patterned ultrathin AgNW networks on a freestanding electrospun PVDF-TrFE frame by evaporation-induced self-assembly is proposed. The patterning mechanism of evaporating AgNW colloidal suspension is investigated from experimental and theoretical analysis. The influence of evaporation-induced flow inside colloidal freestanding membranes on forming regular square hole-shaped arrays, selective deposition of AgNW, and aligning them along the artificial pinning array are addressed. Owing to the orderly arrangement of AgNW networks, the resultant flexible electrode achieves ultrathin thickness (about 5 μm), high optical transmittance (87.8%), and low sheet resistance (8.4 Ω·sq−1) with a relatively low dosage of AgNW (9 μg·cm−2). The electrode exhibits excellent durability during cyclic bending (50,000 times) and stretching (50% strain). The resistance remains virtually unchanged during 200 days in everyday environments. Furthermore, the excellent conformability and breathability of the flexible transparent electrode attached to the human skin demonstrates its potential application as an e-skin sensor. Our findings reliably urge a simple approach to underscore better outcomes with effective patterns by self-assembly of AgNW for highly conformal wearable electronics.
中文翻译:
蒸发诱导自组装超薄银纳米线网络,用于高度舒适的可穿戴电子产品
透明电极的灵活性和稳定性在柔性设备的日益普及中发挥着至关重要的作用,特别是在潜在的可穿戴电子产品中。迄今为止,已经开发了各种溶液涂覆技术来制造银纳米线(AgNW)柔性生物电子学。然而,实现 AgNW 的有序分布模式而不出现不良聚集仍然是一个巨大的挑战。在此,提出了一种通过蒸发诱导自组装在独立式静电纺丝 PVDF-TrFE 框架上实现规则图案超薄 AgNW 网络的方法。通过实验和理论分析研究了蒸发 AgNW 胶体悬浮液的图案形成机制。讨论了胶体独立膜内蒸发引起的流动对形成规则方孔形阵列、AgNW 的选择性沉积以及沿着人工钉扎阵列对齐的影响。由于AgNW网络的有序排列,所得柔性电极以相对较低的AgNW用量实现了超薄厚度(约5μm)、高透光率(87.8%)和低薄层电阻(8.4Ω·sq -1 )。 9μg·cm -2 )。该电极在循环弯曲(50,000次)和拉伸(50%应变)过程中表现出优异的耐久性。在日常环境中 200 天内,电阻几乎保持不变。此外,附着在人体皮肤上的柔性透明电极具有优异的舒适性和透气性,证明了其作为电子皮肤传感器的潜在应用。我们的研究结果可靠地提出了一种简单的方法,通过 AgNW 自组装的有效模式来强调更好的结果,以实现高度共形的可穿戴电子产品。