Highly transparent, low-haze, hybrid cellulose nanopaper as electrodes for flexible electronics

Xuezhu Xu, Jian Zhou, Long Jiang, Gilles Lubineau, Tien Khee Ng, Boon S. Ooi, Hsien-Yu Liao, Chao Shen, Long Chen, J. Y. Zhu

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

137 Scopus citations

Abstract

Paper is an excellent candidate to replace plastics as a substrate for flexible electronics due to its low cost, renewability and flexibility. Cellulose nanopaper (CNP), a new type of paper made of nanosized cellulose fibers, is a promising substrate material for transparent and flexible electrodes due to its potentially high transparency and high mechanical strength. Although CNP substrates can achieve high transparency, they are still characterized by high diffuse transmittance and small direct transmittance, resulting in high optical haze of the substrates. In this study, we proposed a simple methodology for large-scale production of high-transparency, low-haze CNP comprising both long cellulose nanofibrils (CNFs) and short cellulose nanocrystals (CNCs). By varying the CNC/CNF ratio in the hybrid CNP, we could tailor its total transmittance, direct transmittance and diffuse transmittance. By increasing the CNC content, the optical haze of the hybrid CNP could be decreased and its transparency could be increased. The direct transmittance and optical haze of the CNP were 75.1% and 10.0%, respectively, greatly improved from the values of previously reported CNP (31.1% and 62.0%, respectively). Transparent, flexible electrodes were fabricated by coating the hybrid CNP with silver nanowires (AgNWs). The electrodes showed a low sheet resistance (minimum 1.2 Ω sq-1) and a high total transmittance (maximum of 82.5%). The electrodes were used to make a light emitting diode (LED) assembly to demonstrate their potential use in flexible displays. © 2016 The Royal Society of Chemistry.
Original languageEnglish (US)
Pages (from-to)12294-12306
Number of pages13
JournalNanoscale
Volume8
Issue number24
DOIs
StatePublished - 2016

Bibliographical note

KAUST Repository Item: Exported on 2020-10-01
Acknowledgements: Financial supports from North Dakota EPSCoR, KAUST Baseline, and a USDA Agriculture and Food Research Initiative (AFRI) Competitive Grant (no. 2011-67009-20056) are greatly appreciated.

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