Durable Silver Nanowire Transparent Electrodes for Advanced Joule Heating Applications
Abstract
Silver nanowires (AgNWs) are promising materials for optoelectronic applications due to their excellent flexibility, electrical conductivity, and optical transparency. However, their long-term performance can degrade under environmental stress conditions. This study investigates the stability and durability of AgNW-coated cyclic olefin copolymer (COC) electrodes, with a focus on the nature of embedded AgNWs on the COC surface after annealing and other critical coating parameters such as surface pretreatment and coating density. Compared to conventional polymer substrates like polyethylene terephthalate (PET), AgNWs/COC electrodes demonstrated enhanced stability under various stress conditions, including aging tests, electrical loading (14 days at 3V), sunlight exposure (70 hours), and adhesion testing. Notably, high-density coatings (10 mg/mL) achieved a figure of merit of 152 and exhibited minimal variation (< 20%) in sheet resistance across all stress conditions. Furthermore, AgNWs/COC electrodes functioned effectively as transparent heaters, reaching temperatures above 100 °C at an applied voltage as low as 5 V, surpassing the performance of many existing AgNW-based heaters that require higher operating voltages. The electrodes also maintained stable performance under continuous electrical stress, underscoring their potential for reliable and energy-efficient Joule heating applications.
