All-Solution-Processed Micro/Nanowires with Electroplate Welding as Transparent Conducting Electrodes

An all-solution-processed transparent conductive electrode with sheet resistance one order of magnitude smaller than conventional nanowire-based transparent conductors has been developed. This is achieved by integrating all-solution produced microwires with a nanowire solution and electroplating and electrowelding. Advantages of the resulting transparent conductor are indium-free, vacuum-free, and lithographic-facility-free, and metallic-mask-free, with small domain size (approximate to 10 mu m(2)), low sheet resistance (R-s < 1 omega (-1)), high optical transmittance (T > 80%), mechanical flexibility, and scalability, thus making it an excellent replacement for ITO.