Propylene Glycol Directed Synthesis of Silver Nanowires for Transparent Conducting Electrode Application

Silver nanowires (AgNWs) exhibit a good potential function as transparent conductive electrodes (TCEs) due to their excellent electrical conductivity and transparency. In addition, the ability to prepare the AgNWs with a variety of diameters and lengths, distribution concentration and availability of a wide range of deposition methods, such as spin-coating, spray-coating, or brush-painting, offer many possibilities of using TCEs based on AgNWs for specific applications. Here, we demonstrate a straightforward way to prepare AgNWs using a one-pot method and the AgNWs TCEs via spin-coating methods. The AgNWs thin film electrode with a diameter, length, and thickness of 80 nm, 45 µm, and 78 nm, respectively, give sheet resistance as low as 83.2 Ω/square. Meanwhile, the optical transmittance is as high as 92.8% at 550 nm. This produces a figure of merit value, i.e. the ratio between the transparency and the sheet resistance, as high as 11 × 10 −3 . The AgNW TCEs should find use in light-emitting diode and optical sensor applications. Graphical Abstract The transparent conducting electrode composed of Ag nanowires that exhibits excellent transparency and electrical properties are prepared via one-pot growth and spin-coating.