Wired for stability: evaluating the electrical performance of a solution-processed zinc oxide-modified silver nanowire transparent electrode†

Silver nanowires (AgNWs) have gained much attention owing to their optoelectronic and mechanical properties and are therefore potential candidates to tackle intrinsic drawbacks of currently applied transparent electrodes in various (opto)electronic devices. In order for AgNWs to be justifiably considered as viable, it is necessary to address their insufficient stability by coupling them with another constituent into a nanocomposite. For this purpose, ZnO was chosen because of its low cost, solution processability and barrier properties. In this paper, a fully solution processed AgNW/ZnO TE film was investigated in order to understand the effect of ZnO coating on the electrical stability of AgNWs, including the mechanism of degradation during their exposure to high electrical current densities. The nanocomposite transparent electrode was processed with ZnO coatings to determine their effect on its optoelectronic properties and electrical stability, where the ZnO triple coated AgNW demonstrated the best combination of optoelectronic properties and stability at the highest working voltage.