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Metal Nanowire Networks: The Next Generation of Transparent Conductors
Author(s) -
Ye Shengrong,
Rathmell Aaron R.,
Chen Zuofeng,
Stewart Ian E.,
Wiley Benjamin J.
Publication year - 2014
Publication title -
advanced materials
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 10.707
H-Index - 527
eISSN - 1521-4095
pISSN - 0935-9648
DOI - 10.1002/adma.201402710
Subject(s) - nanowire , materials science , nanotechnology , indium tin oxide , indium , metal , transparent conducting film , sputtering , electrical conductor , tin , optoelectronics , thin film , composite material , metallurgy
There is an ongoing drive to replace the most common transparent conductor, indium tin oxide (ITO), with a material that gives comparable performance, but can be coated from solution at speeds orders of magnitude faster than the sputtering processes used to deposit ITO. Metal nanowires are currently the only alternative to ITO that meets these requirements. This Progress Report summarizes recent advances toward understanding the relationship between the structure of metal nanowires, the electrical and optical properties of metal nanowires, and the properties of a network of metal nanowires. Using the structure–property relationship of metal nanowire networks as a roadmap, this Progress Report describes different synthetic strategies to produce metal nanowires with the desired properties. Practical aspects of processing metal nanowires into high‐performance transparent conducting films are discussed, as well as the use of nanowire films in a variety of applications.