Extending field-directed nanowire assembly to create large-area transparent conducting layered sandwich for new company-proposed product

太阳能光电器件、显示器和触摸屏是需要透明导电电极（TCE）的常见产品的示例。常见的透明材料，如玻璃和塑料，通常不是电的良导体。特殊配方的材料，如氧化铟锡，提供高透明度和高导电性，但这些材料昂贵且易于损坏。当应用需要大的TCE面积时，这两个缺点尤其严重。使用电子束光刻在非导电材料（如玻璃）上创建了纳米级导电网格，以展示高导电性和最小的透明度损失，但对于我们的行业合作伙伴感兴趣的大面积设备来说，价格过于昂贵。我们的实验室特别适合这个问题，最近发表的结果证明了在衬底上创建多个导电纳米线的链式网络。这是通过控制施加的电场来控制廉价合成的纳米线从悬浮液中的沉积来实现的。在与我们的行业合作伙伴的这个项目中，我们将使用这种方法在柔性透明基板层上开发经济的TCE类层，用于公司特定的应用。

Solar photovoltaics, displays and touch screens are examples of common products that require transparent, conductive electrodes (TCEs). Familiar transparent materials, such as glass and plastics are typically not good conductors of electricity. Specially formulated materials, such as indium tin oxide provide both high transparency and high electrical conductivity, but these materials are expensive and prone to damage. Both drawbacks are especially strong when the application demands large TCE area. Conducting nanometer scale grids on non-conducting materials like glass, have been created using electron beam lithography, to demonstrate high conductivity with minimal loss of transparency, but are prohibitively expensive for devices with large area, of interest to our industry partner. Our laboratory is particularly well-matched to this problem, having recently published results demonstrating the creation of multiple chained networks of conducting nanowires on substrate. This was achieved by controlling the deposition of inexpensively synthesized nanowires, from a suspending fluid, by controlling applied electric fields. In this project with our industry partner, we will use this method to develop economical TCE-like layers on flexible transparent substrate layers for the company-specific application.