(57) A flexible transparent conductive electrode. The flexible transparent conductive
electrode consists of a transparent flexible substrate and a silver nanowire coating
coated on a surface of the transparent flexible substrate. A preparation therefor
comprises steps of : adding a silver nanowire aqueous dispersion, a waterborne acrylic
resin, triethylenetetramine, 1-2 parts of methyl p-tolyl sulfone, 0.1-0.3 parts of
hydrogenated castor oil, and a composite solvent to a vacuum mixer for vacuum defoaming
and uniform mixing to obtain a mixed liquid, the silver nanowire aqueous dispersion
having a concentration of 2-10 mg/mL, and the composite solvent being prepared by
mixing an alcohol solvent and a ketone solvent; and drying the wet film in a vacuum
oven at 150°C for 3-10 min, and taking out the wet film after moisture in the wet
film is completely volatilized, to give the flexible transparent conductive electrode.
The electrode reduces electrical resistivity, and further avoids accumulation of silver
nanowires, ensures uniformity of electrical conductivity, and improves light transmittance.
[0001] The present invention discloses a flexible transparent conductive electrode. The
flexible transparent conductive electrode is made of transparent flexible base materials
and a transparent flexible substrate coated with a silver nanowire coating. The process
of fabricating the flexible transparent conductive electrode comprises a few steps
as followings: adding silver nanowire aqueous dispersion, waterborn acrylic resin,
triethylenetetramine, 1-2 parts of p-methylsulfonyl toluene, 0.1-0.3 pars of hydrogenated
castor oil and a mixture solvent into a vacuum mixer where evenly mixed, vacuum defoamed,
and thus the coating is prepared. The concentration of the silver nanowire in the
coating is 2-10mg/mL and the mixture solvents used are the mixture of alcohol and
ketone. The film is coated with above coating and moved into a vacuum dryer to be
dried at 150°C for 3-10min so that the solvents in the coating are completely volatilized
and the flexible transparent conductive electrode is obtained. The flexible transparent
conductive electrode of the invention has characteristics of the lower conductive
resistivity, less stacks of silver nanowires, higher uniformity of conductivity and
better optical transmittance comparison with the existing products.
FLEXIBLE TRANSPARENT CONDUCTIVE ELECTRODE
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
[0002] The present invention relates to a technology of silver nanowires, particularly relates
to a flexible transparent conductive electrode.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
[0003] Metal oxides, especially ITO, has the characteristics of good optical transmittance
in visible region and low resistivity which have been hot spots in researches and
applications of transparent conductive electrodes in the past 5 decades. However,
metal oxides have the disadvantages as limited conductivity, brittle and hard to deform.
Concurrently, scarce resources and risen prices are unable to meet the requirements
for developing the modern optoelectronic devices. Two dimensional micro-nano new materials
and structured thin film electrodes are new fields of transparent conductive electrodes
with the development of micro nanotechnology in recent years, such as conductive thin
film of polymers, carbon nanotube film, graphene film and metal nanowire film. Unique
morphology contributes great flexibility and electron mobility to graphene film, but
large scale of production is not mature; uniform dispersion and resistance between
carbon tubes limit the inner surface conductivity of carbon tubes film which need
a little bit large aspect ratio. Transparent conductive film has advantages of not
only great conductivity but also good optical transmission while nanometallic silver
wire electrode's are excellent. Micro-nano silver wires can be used as electrode materials
with less energy consumption (compared with electrode of oxide thin film) since silver
is an electric conductor with great electrical conductivity. At the same time, micro
nano structure of metal with plasma effect increases transmittance while diameters
of micro silver nanowires' particles are smaller than the incident wavelength of visible
light, and perfect photoelectric properties are achieved for electrodes. Simultaneously,
micro silver nanowire electrode is benefit for flexible industries and large scale
productions with lower cost. Therefore, the micro silver nanowire electrode will be
a favorable alternative to ITO transparent conductive electrode. The additives for
preparing coating fluid of micro silver nanowires determines performances of the electrode.
Therefore, various additives are used to prepare different coating fluid for different
properties in order to get better performances. Properties as conductivity and flexural
endurance are still to be improved by using current formula. To overcome the problems
and go on improving in the prior art are directions for those skilled in this field.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[0004] The object of the present invention is to provide a flexible transparent conductive
electrode, in which silver nanowire coating is used. It can not only reduce the content
of silver nanowires, effectively disperse silver nanowires, reduce the conductive
resistivity, but also improve the bending resistance to be more than 5000 bending
times .
[0005] To achieve the above purpose, the technical scheme adopted by the present invention
is a flexible transparent conductive electrode consisting of a transparent flexible
substrate and a silver nanowire coating, which the coating is coated on the surface
of the transparent flexible substrate and the thickness of the silver nanowire coating
is 20-100 microns after dried. The silver nanowire coating comprises following compounds
by weight: 100 parts of silver nanowire aqueous dispersion, 5-8 parts of waterborn
acrylic resin, 2-5 parts of triethylenetetramine, 1-2 parts of p-methylsulfonyl toluene,
0.2-0.5 parts of polyvinyl alcohol aqueous solution, 0.2-0.4 parts of alkanolamide,
0.3-0.5 parts of isopropoxyethanol, 0.1-0.3 parts of hydrogenated castor oil, 30-40
parts of mixture solvents.
[0006] The process of fabricating the flexible transparent conductive electrode comprises
a few steps as followings:
The first step: 100 parts of silver nanowire aqueous dispersion, 5-8 parts of waterborn
acrylic resin, 2-5 parts of triethylenetetramine, 0.1-0.3 parts of hydrogenated castor
oil and 30-40 parts of mixture slovents are all added into a vacuum mixer where evenly
mixed, vacuum defoamed, and then the mixture solution is prepared, in which the concentration
of the silver nanowire in the aqueous dispersion is 2-10mg/mL and the mixture solvent
is a mixture of alcohol solvents and ketone solvents;
The second step: 1-2 parts of p-methylsulfonyl toluene and 0.2-0.5 parts of polyvinyl
alcohol aqueous solution are added into the mixture solution during the process of
stirring. The waterborn resin fluid is waterborn polyester resin fluid after evenly
mixed for 10min stirring;
The third step: 0.2-0.4 parts of alkanolamide and 0.3-0.5 parts of isopropoxyethanol
are added into a vacuum mixer to be continually stirred and evenly mixed. The coating
based on the silver nanowires is prepared ;
The fourth step: Transparent flexible substrate is PET film which uniformly coated
with the silver nanowire coating by using miceo gravure. The distances between the
bars are 15µm and the rolling speed for coating is 80cm/min, a uniform wet film is
formed on the surface of the transparent flexible substrate;
The fifth step: The wet film coated with above coating is completely volatilized after
dried in a vacuum dryer at 150 °C for 3-10min,and the flexible transparent conductive
electrode is obtained.
[0007] Further improvements of the invention are as follows:
- 1. In according with the invention, the silver nanowires in the silver nanowire aqueous
dispersion has the diameters of 20-150nm and lengths of 50-500mm.
- 2. In according with the invention, the alcohols is one of methanol, ethanol and isopropanol.
- 3. In according with the invention, the ketones solvent is one of acetone, butanone,
cyclohexanone and isophorone.
- 4. In according with the invention, the mixture solution is a mixture of alcohols
and ketones with 10:(2-4) by weight.
[0008] The invention has the following advantages and characteristics in comparison with
the prior art:
The flexible transparent conductive electrode of the invention contains 100 parts
of silver nanowire aqueous dispersion, 5-8 parts of water-borne acrylic resin, 0.2-0.5
parts of polyvinyl alcohol aqueous solution, 0.2-0.4 parts of alkyholamide, 0.3-0.5
parts of isopropoxyethylanol as a primary formula, and further adds with 2-5 parts
of triethylenetetramine and 1-2 parts of p-methylsulfonyl toluene which reduces the
content of silver nanowires, effectively disperses the silver nanowires, reduces the
resistivity and improve the bending resistance to be more than 5000 bending times.
Furthermore, the formula added with 0.3-0.5 parts of isopropoxyethanol and a mixture
solvent of alcohols and ketones with 10: (2-4) by weight, which has advantages of
effectively adjusting viscosity and drying rate of the coating further avoiding stacks
of silver nanowires, ensuring uniformity of conductivity and improving transmittance.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS
[0009] The following is detailed description of certain embodiments of the present invention.
formulations 1-4: a flexible transparent conductive electrode is comprised of a transparent
flexible substrate coated with a silver nanowires coating at a thickness of 20-100µm
after the silver nanowire coating is dried. The silver nanowire coating is consist
of the following ingredients by weight as shown in Table 1:
Table 1
Ingredients |
formulation 1 (parts) |
formulation 2 (parts) |
formulation 3 (parts) |
formulation 4 (parts) |
Silver Nanowire Aqueous Dispersion |
100 |
100 |
100 |
100 |
waterborn Acrylic Resin |
6 |
5 |
6.2 |
7 |
Triethylenetetramine |
3 |
2.2 |
5 |
4 |
p-methylsulfonyl toluene |
1.8 |
1 |
1.5 |
1.2 |
PVA Aqueous Solution |
0.24 |
0.4 |
0.3 |
0.45 |
Alkanolamide |
0.3 |
0.35 |
0.4 |
0.26 |
Isopropoxyethanol |
0.4 |
0.5 |
0.35 |
0.42 |
Hydrogenated Castor Oil |
0. 15 |
0.25 |
0. 1 |
0.2 |
Mixture Solvents |
35 |
32 |
38 |
35 |
[0010] In the formulation 1, wherein the mixture solution is a mixture of methanol and cyclohexanone
of 10:2 by weight; In the formulation 2, wherein the mixture solution a mixture of
isopropanol and butanone of 10:2.5 by weight; In the formulation 3, wherein the mixture
solution is a mixture of ethanol and cyclohexanone of 10:3 by weight in; In the formulation
4, wherein the mixture solution is a mixture of methanol and isophorone of 10:3.8
by weight.
[0011] The process of fabricating the flexible transparent conductive electrode comprises
a few steps as followings:
The first step: 100 parts of silver nanowire aqueous dispersion, 5-8 parts of waterborn
acrylic resin, 2-5 parts of triethylenetetramine, 0.1-0.3 parts of hydrogenated castor
oil and 30-40 parts of mixture slovents are all added into a vacuum mixer where evenly
mixed, vacuum defoamed, and then the mixture solution is prepared, in which the concentration
of the silver nanowire in the aqueous dispersion is 2-10mg/mL and the mixture solvent
is a mixture of alcohol solvent and ketone solvent.
The second step: 1-2 parts of p-methylsulfonyl toluene and 0.2-0.5 parts of polyvinyl
alcohol aqueous solution are added into the mixture solution during the process of
stirring. The waterborn resin fluid is waterborn polyester resin fluid after evenly
mixed for 10min stirring;
The third step: 0.2-0.4 parts of alkanolamide and 0.3-0.5 parts of isopropoxyethanol
are added into a vacuum mixer to be continually stirred and evenly mixed. The coating
based on the silver nanowires is prepared ;
The fourth step: Transparent flexible substrate is PET film which uniformly coated
with the silver nanowire coating by using miceo gravure. The distances between the
bars are 15µm and the rolling speed for coating is 80cm/min, a uniform wet film is
formed on the surface of the transparent flexible substrate;
The fifth step: The wet film coated with above coating is completely volatilized after
dried in a vacuum dryer at 150 °C for 3-10min,and the flexible transparent conductive
electrode is obtained.
[0012] The silver nanowires in the above coating have the diameters of 20-150nm and lengths
of 50-500mm:
The tested results of the flexible transparent conductive electrode in the Embodiment
1-4 are shown in Table 2:
Table 2
|
Embodiment 1 |
Embodiment 2 |
Embodiment 3 |
Embodiment 4 |
Resistance(Ω/square) (Four-probe Resistance Tester) |
31 |
30 |
30 |
32 |
Adhesion(Vertical Pulled with 3M600) |
No shedding |
No shedding |
No shedding |
No shedding |
Transmittance(%)(WGW Optical Haze Meter) |
92 |
92 |
91 |
92 |
Haze(WGW Optical Haze Meter) |
1.2 |
1.3 |
1.2 |
1.3 |
Flexural Endurance(time) |
>5000 |
>5000 |
>5000 |
>5000 |
[0013] The characteristics of the flexible transparent electrode which is provided in the
present invention have thus been shown in Table 2 to be achieved in reducing the content
of silver nanowires, effectively dispersing the silver nanowires, reducing resistivity
and improve the bending resistance to be more than 5000 bending times; and effectively
adjusting the viscosity and drying rate of coating fluid, further avoiding stacks
of the silver nanowires, ensuring uniformity of the conductivity and improving transmittance.
[0014] The embodiments are only to illustrate the technical conception and characteristics
of the present invention, the purpose of which is to enable people familiar with the
technology to understand the contents of the present invention and to implement it,
and not to limit the scope of protection of the present invention. Any equivalent
substitution made with the same idea of the present invention is in the scope of protection
of the present invention.
1. A flexible transparent conductive electrode is
characterized in that the flexible transparent conductive electrode comprises a transparent flexible substrate
and a silver nanowire coating which is coated on the surface of the substrate; The
coating on the surface of the transparent flexible substrate is dried in a oven and
the thickness of the silver nanowire coating is 20-100µm after dried. The silver nanowires
coating comprises following ingredients by weight: 100 parts of silver nanowire aqueous
dispersion, 5-8 parts of waterborn acrylic resin, 2-5 parts of triethylenetetramine,
1-2 parts of p-methylsulfonyl toluene, 0.2-0.5 parts of PVA aqueous solution,0.2-0.4
parts of alkanolamide, 0.3-0.5 parts of isopropoxyethanol, 0.1-0.3 parts of hydrogenated
castor oil and 30-40 parts of a mixture solution.
The process of fabricating the flexible transparent conductive electrode comprises
following steps:
step 1, 100 parts of silver nanowire aqueous dispersion, 5-8 parts of waterborn acrylic
resin, 2-5 parts of triethylenetetramine, 0.1-0.3 parts of hydrogenated castor oil
and 30-40 parts of mixture slovents are all added into a vacuum mixer where evenly
mixed, vacuum defoamed, and then the mixture solution is prepared, in which the concentration
of the silver nanowire in the aqueous dispersion is 2-10mg/mL and the mixture solvent
is a mixture of alcohol solvent and ketone solvent;
step 2, 1-2 parts of p-methylsulfonyl toluene and 0.2-0.5 parts of polyvinyl alcohol
aqueous solution are added into the mixture solution during the process of stirring.
The waterborn resin fluid is waterborn polyester resin fluid after evenly mixed for
10min stirring;
step 3, 0.2-0.4 parts of alkanolamide and 0.3-0.5 parts of isopropoxyethanol are added
into a vacuum mixer to be continually stirred and evenly mixed. The coating based
on the silver nanowires is prepared ;
step 4,Transparent flexible substrate is PET film which uniformly coated with the
silver nanowire coating by using miceo gravure. The distances between the bars are
15µm and the rolling speed for coating is 80cm/min, a uniform wet film is formed on
the surface of the transparent flexible substrate;
step 5,The wet film coated with above coating is completely volatilized after dried
in a vacuum dryer at 150°C for 3-10min,and the flexible transparent conductive electrode
is obtained.
2. The preparation process of the flexible conductive film of claim 1 with silver paste
as claimed in claim nanowires, wherein: the silver nanowires of the silver nanowire
aqueous dispersion with diameters of 20-150nm and lengths of 50-500mm.
3. The preparation process of the flexible conductive film of claim 1 with silver paste
as claimed in claim nanowires, wherein: the alcoholic solvent is one of methanol,
ethanol and isopropanol.
4. The preparation process of the flexible conductive film of claim 1 with silver paste
as claimed in claim nanowires, wherein: the ketonic solvent is one of acetone, butanone,
cyclohexanone and isophorone.
5. The preparation process of the flexible conductive film of claim 1 with silver paste
as claimed in claim nanowires, wherein: the mixture solvent is a mixture of alcohols
solvent and ketones solvent of 10:(2-4) by weight.