Assessing the Stability of Printed NWs by in situ SEM Characterisation

Quasi-1D nanowires (NWs) have shown a great potential for the large-area flexible electronics due to their excellent electronic and optoelectronic properties and high mechanical flexibility. The growth of high-quality NWs often requires a high temperature process, which is incompatible with most of flexible substrates. In this regard, a printing strategy has been adopted to decouple the synthesis process from thermally sensitive polymeric substrates. This paper presents a detailed study on the selective printing of NWs using contact printing. In situ scanning electron microscope (SEM) characterizations have been employed here to illustrate the robustness of printed NWs after carrying out various standard microfabrication processes. This study improves our understanding of the NW printing process and lays a strong foundation for the realization of devices and systems such as electronic skin using the NW printing approach.