Fabrication, Encapsulation and Characterization of Transparent Heaters Based on Solution-Processed Copper Nanowires

Solution processed copper nanowires (CuNWs) possess significant economic advantages over indium tin oxide (ITO). However, the biggest issue, for copper nanowires (CuNWs) is the degradation of the copper due to ambient gases. In this work, encapsulation methods for transparent conducting electrodes based on solution processed copper nanowires applied as thin film heaters have been studied. The protective effect of the encapsulation layer has been investigated at temperatures ranging from approximately 80∘C to 150∘C. A model description allows to factor out side effects influencing the measurement. With PMMA a 10 times longer life time of a protected heater in comparison to a pristine copper nanowire heater has been achieved. Furthermore, it has been pointed out that the protective effect of PMMA is significantly reduced above the glass transition temperature of PMMA at 105∘C. Next to the temperature induced degradation it has also been shown in this work that copper nanowire thin films are severely affected by UV-light. This work provides an additional step for establishing efficient encapsulations on CuNWs in order to utilize the promising material properties for transparent conducting electrodes.      «

Solution processed copper nanowires (CuNWs) possess significant economic advantages over indium tin oxide (ITO). However, the biggest issue, for copper nanowires (CuNWs) is the degradation of the copper due to ambient gases. In this work, encapsulation methods for transparent conducting electrodes based on solution processed copper nanowires applied as thin film heaters have been studied. The protective effect of the encapsulation layer has been investigated at temperatures ranging from approxim...     »