Role of Polymeric Metal Nucleation Inducers in Fabricating Large‐Area, Flexible, and Transparent Electrodes for Printable Electronics. (4th April 2017)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Jeong, Soyeong; Jung, Suhyun; Kang, Hongkyu; Lee, Dasol; Choi, Sang‐Bae; Kim, Seok; Park, Byoungwook; Yu, Kilho; Lee, Jinho; Lee, Kwanghee
• Is Part Of: Advanced functional materials. Volume 27:Number 22(2017)
• Page Start: n/a
• Page End: n/a
• Publication Date: 2017-04-04
• Subjects: flexible and transparent electrodes -- nonconjugated polyelectrolytes -- nucleation inducers -- polymer light‐emitting diodes -- ultrathin metal electrodes; Materials -- Periodicals; Chemical vapor deposition -- Periodicals; 620.11
• DOI: 10.1002/adfm.201606842
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 1616-301X

Abstract

Abstract : The advent of special types of transparent electrodes, known as "ultrathin metal electrodes, " opens a new avenue for flexible and printable electronics based on their excellent optical transparency in the visible range while maintaining their intrinsic high electrical conductivity and mechanical flexibility. In this new electrode architecture, introducing metal nucleation inducers (MNIs) on flexible plastic substrates is a key concept to form high‐quality ultrathin metal films (thickness ≈ 10 nm) with smooth and continuous morphology. Herein, this paper explores the role of "polymeric" MNIs in fabricating ultrathin metal films by employing various polymers with different surface energies and functional groups. Moreover, a scalable approach is demonstrated using the ionic self‐assembly on typical plastic substrates, yielding large‐area electrodes (21 × 29.7 cm 2 ) with high optical transmittance (>95%), low sheet resistance (<10 Ω sq −1 ), and extreme mechanical flexibility. The results demonstrate that this new class of flexible and transparent electrodes enables the fabrication of efficient polymer light‐emitting diodes. Abstract : Ultrathin metal electrodes (UMEs) based on polymeric metal nucleation inducers (MNIs) are developed as a flexible and transparent electrode for future optoelectronic applications. The role of MNIs in forming UMEs is demonstrated by employing various polymers. Large‐area UMEs (21 × 29.7 cm 2 ) with high optical transmittance (>95%), low sheet resistance (<10 Ω sq −1 ), and extreme mechanical flexibility are fabricated.