Abstract
Poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene):polystyrene sulfonate (PEDOT:PSS) is often used in transparent electrodes as a transparent conductive polymer, however encapsulation away from atmospheric water is often required. Here, we fabricate transparent, flexible silver nanowire (AgNW):single walled carbon nanotube (SWCNT) electrodes using graphene oxide (GO), mitigating the use of PEDOT:PSS. These GO/AgNW:SWCNT electrodes were found to be highly conductive with a sheet resistance of 2.2Ω/□–5.9Ω/□ and a work function of ~4.8eV. The optical transmittance was 75.00±0.02% with a haze value of 21.8±0.8%. The figure of merit was shown to be comparable to indium tin oxide (ITO), at 297Ω−1. Finally, the electrodes were shown to be flexible with no reduction in conductivity after 1000 bend cycle/cycles. These PEDOT:PSS free electrodes have the potential to replace rigid commercial ITO electrodes in applications that require flexible, highly conductive transparent electrodes.
•Transparent AgNW/SWCNT electrodes are fabricated without hygroscopic PEDOT:PSS.•Graphene oxide was used as an electrode planarizer and external contact.•Electrodes with comparable work function to indium tin oxide•Sheet resistances lower than indium tin oxide•Bending studies showed electrodes to be highly flexible and stable.