Pre-deposited Conductive Polymer Layer Suppresses Silver Nanowire Embedding in TPU for Stretchable Transparent Electrodes and Flexible Organic Solar Cells

Abstract

Silver nanowire (AgNW)-based transparent electrodes are promising candidates for flexible and stretchable organic optoelectronics. However, their integration with low-glass-transition-temperature elastomers remains challenging because AgNWs can become excessively embedded in the polymer matrix during thermal processing, resulting in increased sheet resistance and poor interfacial contact. Herein, we develop an inverted layer-by-layer transfer strategy based on a pre-deposited conductive polymer layer to fabricate TPU@AgNWs@S-PH1000 stretchable transparent electrodes. In this design, BTSL-doped PEDOT:PSS PH1000 (S-PH1000) [PEDOT:PSS, poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene):poly(styrenesulfonate)] is first deposited on a smooth glass substrate, followed by AgNW coating and TPU transfer. The pre-deposited S-PH1000 layer planarizes the AgNW network, improves interfacial adhesion, and suppresses excessive AgNW embedding into the TPU matrix during annealing. As a result, the electrode exhibits reduced surface roughness, high transmittance, a broadened thermal-processing window, and excellent stretchability, remaining conductive under 60% tensile strain and after 1000 stretching cycles at 10% strain. When applied to flexible organic solar cells, the pre-deposited electrode increases the power conversion efficiency from 14.71% to 16.22%, mainly owing to lower resistance, enhanced interfacial contact, higher transmittance, and reduced non-radiative recombination. This work provides an effective strategy for constructing stretchable transparent electrodes for flexible photovoltaic applications.

Keywords

Silver nanowire / Stretchable transparent electrode / Conductive polymer / Thermoplastic polyurethane / Flexible organic solar cell

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Jilin University, The Editorial Department of Chemical Research in Chinese Universities and Springer-Verlag GmbH

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