Preparation and Properties of Silver Nanowire-Based Transparent Conductive Composite Films

Silver nanowire-based transparent conductive composite films with different structures were successfully prepared using various methods, including liquid polyol, magnetron sputtering and spin coating. The experimental results revealed that the optical transmittance of all different structural composite films decreased slightly (1–3%) compared to pure films. However, the electrical conductivity of all composite films had a great improvement. Under the condition that the optical transmittance was greater than 78% over the wavelength range of 400–800 nm, the AgNW/PVA/AgNW film became a conductor, while the AZO/AgNW/AZO film and the ITO/AgNW/ITO film showed 88.9% and 94% reductions, respectively, for the sheet resistance compared with pure films. In addition, applying a suitable mechanical pressure can improve the conductivity of AgNW-based composite films.