Effect of titanium oxide coating on electrical and optical properties of silver nanowire transparent conductive electrodes

In this study, silver nanowire (AgNW) transparent conductive electrodes were fabricated using the printing method. To improve the adhesion of the AgNW network to a substrate and its contact resistance, we deposited a <i>T</i><i>i</i><i>O</i>₂ shell on the AgNWs by the atmospheric pressure atomic layer deposition. The entire surfaces of the AgNWs were coated by the <i>T</i><i>i</i><i>O</i>₂ shell, which was 27 nm thick and grew in the Stranski-Krastanov (layer plus island) mode. The developed <i>A</i><i>g</i><i>N</i><i>W</i><i>s</i>@<i>T</i><i>i</i><i>O</i>₂ exhibited low sheet resistance (19.25<i>Ω</i>/<i>◻</i>) and high transmittance (84.1%). Specifically, sheet resistance decreased sharply from 216.40<i>Ω</i>/<i>◻</i> to 19.25<i>Ω</i>/<i>◻</i>. The figure of merit increased from 55.3 to 108.3, whereas transmittance decreased from 96.7% to 84.1%, and the maximum Joule heating temperature of the transparent electrode increased from 100°C to 171°C. The fabricated material demonstrated excellent adhesion to the substrate. These results suggest that the conductivity and adhesion of transparent AgNWs were improved by the <i>T</i><i>i</i><i>O</i>₂ coating.