Flexible Transparent Electrode Characteristics of Graphene Oxide/Cysteamine/AgNP/AgNW Structure

Graphene oxide (GO)–cysteamine–Ag nanoparticles (GCA)–silver nanowire (AgNW) fabricated by depositing GCA over sprayed AgNWs on PET films were proposed for transparent and flexible electrodes, and their optical, electrical, and mechanical properties were analyzed by energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy, Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy, Raman spectroscopy, atomic force microscopy, scanning electron microscopy, transmission electron microscopy, current-voltage measurements, and bending test. GCA–AgNW electrodes show optical transmittance of >80% at 550 nm and exhibit a high figure-of-merit value of up to 116.13 in the samples with sheet resistances of 20–40 Ω/◻. It was observed that the detrimental oxidation of bare AgNWs over time was considerably decreased, and the mechanical robustness was improved. To apply the layer as an actual electrode in working devices, a Pt/GO/poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene) polystyrene sulfonate/GCA–AgNW/polyethylene terephthalate structure was fabricated, and resistive switching memory was demonstrated. On the basis of these results, we confirm that the proposed GCA–AgNW layer can be used as transparent and flexible electrode.