Silver Nanowire-Based Transparent Conductive Films on Curved Substrates with Ethyl Cellulose as an Auxiliary Agent

Recently, flexible transparent conductive films have received widespread attention as important components in the field of organic electronics. Herein, we propose a method for directly constructing flexible transparent conductive films on curved surfaces using silver nanowires as the primary conductive material with the assistance of ethyl cellulose. The uniform transparent conductive film is produced by spray coating the silver nanowires on the curved surface with a curvature diameter of 5 cm. The average sheet resistance is approximately 18.9 Ω sq–1 with a transparency reaching 92.33%, and the standard deviation of the surface resistance is 1.1 Ω sq–1. The inclusion of ethyl cellulose prevents the aggregation of silver nanowires and allows their even distribution on the film surface, which is crucial for achieving a uniform and stable transparent conductive film. Through the analysis and comparison of different types of cellulose, such as methyl cellulose, ethyl cellulose, hydroxyethyl cellulose, hydroxypropyl cellulose, hydroxypropyl methyl cellulose, cellulose acetate, and cyanoethyl cellulose, a conclusion has been derived that only cellulose soluble in organic solvents can maintain a homogeneous distribution on the surface of the film without aggregation. Furthermore, changing the magnitude and sign of the curvature did not affect the uniformity of the film. The significant industrial potential of our approach lies in the direct construction of a uniformly transparent silver nanowire network on curved surfaces with applications spanning various fields. Specifically, it can be employed in the realm of electronics, catering to the needs of touchscreens in electronic displays, solar cells, and flexible electronic devices, such as flexible circuit boards