An approach for transparent and electrically conducting coatings: A transparent plastic varnish with nanoparticulate magnetic additives

For the purpose of preparing TCCs (=transparent and electrical conducting coatings), metallic and ferromagnetic nano-additives were dispersed into a transparent varnish and the obtained dispersions were coated on transparent plastic substrates. During hardening of the dispersion the magnetic nano-additives were aligned by a magnetic field. The resulting coatings have electrical pathways along lines of nano-additive chains and are highly transparent in the areas between the lines. Therefore, the electrical conductivity is anisotropic, and it depends on the alignment of the nano-additives (i.e. on the distance between the nano-additives within the chains and the length of the lines) as well as on the thickness of an oxide and/or solvent shell around the nano-additives. The transparency depends also on the alignment and here especially on the thickness and the distance between the formed lines. The quality of the alignment in turn, depends on the magnetic properties and on the size of the particles. We used commercial plastic varnishes, which form electrically isolating (≥10−12S/m) and transparent (about 90% transparency) coatings, and the following magnetic additives: Co-, Fe-, CoPt3, CoPt3@Au- and Fe@Au-nanoparticles as well as CoNi-nanowires. Coatings with Fe@Au-nanoparticles show the best results in terms of the electrical conductivity (10−5S/m–10−6S/m) at transparencies above 70%. Furthermore, in addition to the magnetic nano-additives, transparent additives (Al2O3-particles) and non-magnetic, but better conducting additives (carbon-nanotubes) were added to the varnish to increase the transparency and the electrical conductivity, respectively. •Transparent and electrical conducting coatings are prepared.•Ferromagnetic nano-additives are dispersed in a transparent plastic varnish.•The magnetic nano-additives are aligned by a magnetic field.•Coatings with discharging conductivities and transparencies above 70% are obtained.