Uniformly interconnected silver-nanowire networks for transparent film heaters

The fabrication and design principles for using silver-nanowire (AgNW) networks as transparent electrodes for flexible film heaters are described. For best practice, AgNWs are synthesized with a small diameter and network structures of the AgNW films are optimized, demonstrating a favorably low surface resistivity in transparent layouts with a high figure-of-merit value. To explore their potential in transparent electrodes, a transparent film heater is constructed based on uniformly interconnected AgNW networks, which yields an effective and rapid heating of the film at low input voltages. In addition, the AgNW-based film heater is capable of accommodating a large amount of compressive or tensile strains in a completely reversible fashion, thereby yielding an excellent mechanical flexibility. The AgNW networks demonstrated here possess attractive features for both conventional and emerging applications of transparent flexible electrodes. A scalable and facile method of preparing highly transparent and flexible electrodes for film heaters based on solution- processed silver-nanowire (AgNW) networks is presented. By optimizing the network structure of AgNWs, highly transparent and conductive AgNW films are demonstrated, which can yield the effective and rapid heating of the film at low input voltages.