High-Throughput Fabrication of Silver Nanowire Networks That are Highly Stable under Current Flow by In Situ Interconnection with Single-Walled Carbon Nanotubes

Abstract

The junction resistance control of conducting networks is a crucial factor for high performance of the network-structured conducting film. Here, we show that silver nanowire (AgNW) networks can be stabilized by using single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWCNTs) which were functionalized with 2-ureido-4[1H]pyrimidinone (UHP) moieties. UHP-modified SWCNTs allowed us to fabricate AgNW suspension containing SWCNTs without adding additional dispersant molecules. The stabilization of AgNW networks was achieved by minimizing the joule heating at the NW-NW junction assisted by in-situ interconnection with the work function modulated SWCNTs. We propose that the electrical transportation pathway was modulated by the SWCNTs through the SWCNT-AgNW junctions, which results in a relatively lower junction resistance than the NW-NW junction in the network film.