Solution synthesis of Al:ZnO–AgNWs–Al:ZnO flexible transparent conductive film

Flexible films based on ZnO are usually prepared by high-cost physical methods such as sputtering and atomic layer deposition. Due to the low-temperature requirement of flexible substrate, it is difficult to synthesize flexible transparent conductive films with good conductivity using a low-cost chemical method in reality. Although the sol-combustion method can realize low-temperature chemical synthesis of a transparent conductive film, its electrical resistivity is high and cannot be applied to flexible electronic equipment. Here, we present a kind of transparent conductive composite with sandwich structure of aluminum-doped zinc oxide (AZO) as skin and silver nanowires (AgNWs) as sandwich by low-cost wet chemical methods. Since the resistivity of ZnO is not as low as that of metals. The metal layer and metal nanowires can embed between two transparent conductive layers, improving the electrical conductivity effectively. At the same time, the crystal structure and surface morphology of the film have been studied, and the influence of the concentration of silver nanowires on the surface morphology and photoelectric properties of the film has also been studied. The results show that the AZO–AgNWs–AZO composites film with AgNWs concentration of 3.6 mg/L showed the optimal optical and electrical performance. And the composites film showed excellent long-term stability and bending stability. In summary, the AZO–AgNWs–AZO sandwich structure composites have a great potential to improve flexible electronics including organic light-emitting diodes, organic solar cells and wearable electronic devices.