Flexible, transparent patterned electrodes based on graphene oxide/silver nanowire nanocomposites fabricated utilizing an accelerated ultraviolet/ozone process to control silver nanowire degradation

We developed flexible, transparent patterned electrodes, which were fabricated utilizing accelerated ultraviolet/ozone (UV/O(3))-treated graphene oxide (GO)/silver nanowire (Ag-NW) nanocomposites via a simple, low-cost pattern process to investigate the feasibility of promising applications in flexible/wearable electronic and optoelectronic devices. The UV/O(3) process of the GO/Ag-NW electrode was accelerated by the pre-heat treatment, and the degradation interruption of Ag NWs was removed by the GO treatment. After the deposition of the GO-treated Ag NW electrodes, the sheet resistance of the thermally annealed GO-treated Ag-NW electrodes was significantly increased by using the UV/O(3) treatment, resulting in a deterioration of the GO-treated Ag NWs in areas exposed to the UV/O(3) treatment. The degradation of the Ag NWs caused by the UV/O(3) treatment was confirmed by using the sheet resistances, scanning electron microscopy images, X-ray photoelectron microscopy spectra, and transmittance spectra. While the sheet resistance of the low-density Ag-NW electrode was considerably increased due to the pre-thermal treatment at 90 °C for 10 min, that of the high-density Ag-NW electrode did not vary significantly even after a UV/O(3) treatment for a long time. The degradation interference phenomenon caused by the UV/O(3) treatment in the high-density Ag NWs could be removed by using a GO treatment, which resulted in the formation of a Ag-NW electrode pattern suitable for promising applications in flexible organic light-emitting devices. The GO treatment decreased the sheet resistance of the Ag-NW electrode and enabled the pattern to be formed by using the UV/O(3) treatment. The selective degradation of Ag NWs due to UV/O(3) treatment decreased the transparency of the Ag-NW electrode by about 8% and significantly increased its sheet resistance more than 100 times.