Fabrication of Grid-Type Transparent Conducting Electrodes Based on Controlled Mechanical Fracture

Herein, we developed a unique and effective method to fabricate the silver networks embedded in flexible substrates by controlling mechanical fracture in the oxidized surface of elastomers for a highly transparent conducting electrode (TCE). A brittle silica-like layer on a poly(dimethyl siloxane) (PDMS) was generated by carrying out UV/ozone treatment. Then, cracks were uniformly produced in the silica-like layer by bending the elastic substrates at different stains. After the PDMS replica with crack patterns was produced, silver ink was filled into the cracks and sintered to form conducting networks embedded in the PDMS substrate. The resulting highly transparent and conductive electrode was mechanically robust to bending strains. The silver networks-based TCEs was successfully applied to emissive electrochemiluminescent (ECL) devices. [Figure not available: see fulltext.].