Recent advances in metal nanowire-based transparent conductive films:Fabrication and applications

Transparent conductive films(TCFs) have attracted intense attention in many electronic products, such as flexible devices, organic light-emitting diodes and stretchable electronics. Indium tin oxide(ITO) is the most commonly used transparent conductive material. However, the instinct brittleness, low reserves and high manufacturing costs associated with ITO prompted searching for a suitable alternative. The alternatives are expected to have a comparable optoelectrical performance with ITO, excellent flexibility and low cost. At present, metal nanowires(NWs) are the only alternative to ITO that satisfy these requirements concurrently. Nevertheless, practical applications of metal NWs are still limited by several drawbacks, including the poor quality of synthesized NWs, the loose wire to wire junctions, and the low resistance against oxidation or corrosion. This review summarizes the recent developments of TCFs to address these challenging issues and highlights some most important fabrication methods to improve the conductivity and stability of TCFs. At last, the applications of TCFs in a variety of devices, such as transparent heaters, organic light-emitting diodes and electrochromic devices, are also discussed.