Solvent Welding-Based Methods Gently and Effectively Enhance the Conductivity of a Silver Nanowire Network

To enhance the conductivity of a silver nanowire (Ag NW) network, a facile solvent welding method was developed. Soaking a Ag NW network in ethylene glycol (EG) or alcohol for less than 15 min decreased the resistance about 70%. Further combined solvent processing via a plasmonic welding approach de...

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Autores principales: Zhu, Zhaoxi, Wang, Xiaolu, Li, Dan, Yu, Haiyang, Li, Xuefei, Guo, Fu
Formato: Online Artículo Texto
Lenguaje:English
Publicado: MDPI 2023
Materias:
Acceso en línea:https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC10650926/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/37947710
http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/nano13212865
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author Zhu, Zhaoxi
Wang, Xiaolu
Li, Dan
Yu, Haiyang
Li, Xuefei
Guo, Fu
author_facet Zhu, Zhaoxi
Wang, Xiaolu
Li, Dan
Yu, Haiyang
Li, Xuefei
Guo, Fu
author_sort Zhu, Zhaoxi
collection PubMed
description To enhance the conductivity of a silver nanowire (Ag NW) network, a facile solvent welding method was developed. Soaking a Ag NW network in ethylene glycol (EG) or alcohol for less than 15 min decreased the resistance about 70%. Further combined solvent processing via a plasmonic welding approach decreased the resistance about 85%. This was achieved by simply exposing the EG-soaked Ag NW network to a low-power blue light (60 mW/cm(2)). Research results suggest that poly(vinylpyrrolidone) (PVP) dissolution by solvent brings nanowires into closer contact, and this reduced gap distance between nanowires enhances the plasmonic welding effect, hence further decreasing resistance. Aside from this dual combination of methods, a triple combination with Joule heating welding induced by applying a current to the Ag NW network decreased the resistance about 96%. Although conductivity was significantly enhanced, our results showed that the melting at Ag NW junctions was relatively negligible, which indicates that the enhancement in conductivity could be attributed to the removal of PVP layers. Moreover, the approaches were quite gentle so any potential damage to Ag NWs or polymer substrates by overheating (e.g., excessive Joule heating) was avoided entirely, making the approaches suitable for application in devices using heat-sensitive materials.
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spelling pubmed-106509262023-10-29 Solvent Welding-Based Methods Gently and Effectively Enhance the Conductivity of a Silver Nanowire Network Zhu, Zhaoxi Wang, Xiaolu Li, Dan Yu, Haiyang Li, Xuefei Guo, Fu Nanomaterials (Basel) Article To enhance the conductivity of a silver nanowire (Ag NW) network, a facile solvent welding method was developed. Soaking a Ag NW network in ethylene glycol (EG) or alcohol for less than 15 min decreased the resistance about 70%. Further combined solvent processing via a plasmonic welding approach decreased the resistance about 85%. This was achieved by simply exposing the EG-soaked Ag NW network to a low-power blue light (60 mW/cm(2)). Research results suggest that poly(vinylpyrrolidone) (PVP) dissolution by solvent brings nanowires into closer contact, and this reduced gap distance between nanowires enhances the plasmonic welding effect, hence further decreasing resistance. Aside from this dual combination of methods, a triple combination with Joule heating welding induced by applying a current to the Ag NW network decreased the resistance about 96%. Although conductivity was significantly enhanced, our results showed that the melting at Ag NW junctions was relatively negligible, which indicates that the enhancement in conductivity could be attributed to the removal of PVP layers. Moreover, the approaches were quite gentle so any potential damage to Ag NWs or polymer substrates by overheating (e.g., excessive Joule heating) was avoided entirely, making the approaches suitable for application in devices using heat-sensitive materials. MDPI 2023-10-29 /pmc/articles/PMC10650926/ /pubmed/37947710 http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/nano13212865 Text en © 2023 by the authors. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland. This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).
spellingShingle Article
Zhu, Zhaoxi
Wang, Xiaolu
Li, Dan
Yu, Haiyang
Li, Xuefei
Guo, Fu
Solvent Welding-Based Methods Gently and Effectively Enhance the Conductivity of a Silver Nanowire Network
title Solvent Welding-Based Methods Gently and Effectively Enhance the Conductivity of a Silver Nanowire Network
title_full Solvent Welding-Based Methods Gently and Effectively Enhance the Conductivity of a Silver Nanowire Network
title_fullStr Solvent Welding-Based Methods Gently and Effectively Enhance the Conductivity of a Silver Nanowire Network
title_full_unstemmed Solvent Welding-Based Methods Gently and Effectively Enhance the Conductivity of a Silver Nanowire Network
title_short Solvent Welding-Based Methods Gently and Effectively Enhance the Conductivity of a Silver Nanowire Network
title_sort solvent welding-based methods gently and effectively enhance the conductivity of a silver nanowire network
topic Article
url https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC10650926/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/37947710
http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/nano13212865
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