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Role of Polymeric Metal Nucleation Inducers in Fabricating Large‐Area, Flexible, and Transparent Electrodes for Printable Electronics
Author(s) -
Jeong Soyeong,
Jung Suhyun,
Kang Hongkyu,
Lee Dasol,
Choi SangBae,
Kim Seok,
Park Byoungwook,
Yu Kilho,
Lee Jinho,
Lee Kwanghee
Publication year - 2017
Publication title -
advanced functional materials
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 6.069
H-Index - 322
eISSN - 1616-3028
pISSN - 1616-301X
DOI - 10.1002/adfm.201606842
Subject(s) - materials science , electrode , fabrication , flexible electronics , flexible display , nanotechnology , sheet resistance , nucleation , stretchable electronics , optoelectronics , transmittance , polymer , electronics , composite material , layer (electronics) , thin film transistor , chemistry , organic chemistry , medicine , alternative medicine , pathology
The advent of special types of transparent electrodes, known as “ultrathin metal electrodes,” opens a new avenue for flexible and printable electronics based on their excellent optical transparency in the visible range while maintaining their intrinsic high electrical conductivity and mechanical flexibility. In this new electrode architecture, introducing metal nucleation inducers (MNIs) on flexible plastic substrates is a key concept to form high‐quality ultrathin metal films (thickness ≈ 10 nm) with smooth and continuous morphology. Herein, this paper explores the role of “polymeric” MNIs in fabricating ultrathin metal films by employing various polymers with different surface energies and functional groups. Moreover, a scalable approach is demonstrated using the ionic self‐assembly on typical plastic substrates, yielding large‐area electrodes (21 × 29.7 cm 2 ) with high optical transmittance (>95%), low sheet resistance (<10 Ω sq −1 ), and extreme mechanical flexibility. The results demonstrate that this new class of flexible and transparent electrodes enables the fabrication of efficient polymer light‐emitting diodes.