Thin film nanocomposites based on polyaniline and silver nanowires for optoelectronic applications

Abstract

The broad application of optoelectronic devices has influenced intense R&D to follow in its wake. As one of the essential parts of these devices, transparent electrodes (TE) represent an area of growing interest, owing to the fact that it is possible to drastically improve the performance of optoelectronic devices by improving properties of TE. In this work TE films based on the nanocomposite of silver nanowires (AgNWs) and polyaniline polymer (PANI) were processed via spin coating during which various wt% of polymer dispersions were coated on a layer of AgNWs, after which the nanocomposite was doped with orto-phosphorous acid (H3PO4) in order to transform the polymer from its nonconductive emeraldine base (EB) to its conductive state – emeraldine salt (ES). AgNWs/PANI nanocomposites have shown promising optoelectronic properties, such as optical transparency of 84.6% and sheet resistance of 35 Ω/□, essential for adequate TE performance.