Ultrathin Epitaxial Cu@Au Core–Shell Nanowires for Stable Transparent Conductors

Journal of the American Chemical Society

5 years ago

Ultrathin Epitaxial Cu@Au Core–Shell Nanowires for Stable Transparent Conductors

Nigel Becknell, Fan Cui, Yuchun Sun, Kerstin Schierle-Arndt, Zhiqiang Niu, Yi Yu, Letian Dou, Ahmad Dehestani, Dohyung Kim, Peidong Yang, Garo Khanarian

Copper nanowire networks are considered a promising alternative to indium tin oxide as transparent conductors. The fast degradation of copper in ambient conditions, however, largely overshadows their practical applications. Here, we develop the synthesis of ultrathin Cu@Au core–shell nanowires using trioctylphosphine as a strong binding ligand to prevent galvanic replacement reactions. The epitaxial overgrowth of a gold shell with a few atomic layers on the surface of copper nanowires can greatly enhance their resistance to heat (80 °C), humidity (80%) and air for at least 700 h, while their optical and electrical performance remained similar to the original high-performance copper (e.g., sheet resistance 35 Ω sq^–1 at transmittance of ∼89% with a haze factor <3%). The precise engineering of core–shell nanostructures demonstrated in this study offers huge potential to further explore the applications of copper nanowires in flexible and stretchable electronic and optoelectronic devices.

Publisher URL: http://dx.doi.org/10.1021/jacs.7b02884

DOI: 10.1021/jacs.7b02884