Mechano‐Electrically Durability of Flexible Transparent Conductive Electrodes From Silver Nanowires/Polymer Nanocomposites

ABSTRACT This work presents conductive polymer composites to develop flexible, transparent, and highly deformable conductive electrodes. The nanocomposites elaborated in this study, based on silver nanowires dispersed in a polyurethane matrix, were obtained via a one‐step spray coating process on a flexible PET substrate. A polyol‐based synthesis combined with a nanowire screening process allows for the selection of nanowires with a very high aspect ratio (400). These high aspect ratio wires enable the conductive composite coatings (p c  = 1.3 vol.%) with a transmittance close to 70%. The confinement of high aspect ratio nanowires in a very thin composite layer facilitates a comparison between the increase in mechanical modulus and predictive behavior models for fiber‐reinforced laminates. The mechanical reinforcement aspect ratio found by extrapolation exhibits the key role of the longest nanowires in mechanical properties. A homogenization limit has been identified at approximately 2.5 vol.% for this type of composite. Fatigue tests under bending conditions with a 3% strain and a 4 mm bending radius demonstrated that the surface resistivity (0.3 Ω/sq) remains stable after 1000 cycles.