Research on flexible silver nanowire electrode for organic light-emitting devices

By spin-coating silver nanowires (AgNWs) and polymethyl methacrylate (PMMA), applying pressure imprint and plasma treatment, we obtained flat AgNW thin film with a sheet resistance of 20 omega/sq and a transmittance of 78% at 550 nm with low surface roughness. No significant change in sheet resistance was observed after cyclic bending (bending radius is 5 mm) test and tape test. After 1 000 bending tests, the change rate of sheet resistance was only 8.3%. The organic light-emitting devices (OLEDs) were prepared by using such AgNW electrodes and a maximum brightness of 5 090 cd/m(2) was obtained. Compared with the AgNWs electrode without any treatment, the present AgNW electrodes have lower sheet resistance and better hole injection. Our results show spin-coated with flat layers, embossed and plasma-treated AgNW electrodes are suitable for manufacturing flexible organic optoelectronic devices.