Fabricating Silver Nanowire–IZO Composite Transparent Conducting Electrodes at Roll-to-Roll Speed for Perovskite Solar Cells
This study addresses the challenges of efficient, large-scale production of flexible transparent conducting electrodes (TCEs). We fabricate TCEs on polyethylene terephthalate (PET) substrates using a high-speed roll-to-roll (R2R) compatible method that combines gravure printing and photonic curing....
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MDPI AG
2025-03-01
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| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2673-687X/5/2/5 |
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| author | Justin C. Bonner Bishal Bhandari Garrett J. Vander Stouw Geethanjali Bingi Kurt A. Schroder Julia E. Huddy William J. Scheideler Julia W. P. Hsu |
| author_facet | Justin C. Bonner Bishal Bhandari Garrett J. Vander Stouw Geethanjali Bingi Kurt A. Schroder Julia E. Huddy William J. Scheideler Julia W. P. Hsu |
| author_sort | Justin C. Bonner |
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| description | This study addresses the challenges of efficient, large-scale production of flexible transparent conducting electrodes (TCEs). We fabricate TCEs on polyethylene terephthalate (PET) substrates using a high-speed roll-to-roll (R2R) compatible method that combines gravure printing and photonic curing. The hybrid TCEs consist of Ag metal bus lines (Ag MBLs) coated with silver nanowires (AgNWs) and indium zinc oxide (IZO) layers. All materials are solutions deposited at speeds exceeding 10 m/min using gravure printing. We conduct a systematic study to optimize coating parameters and tune solvent composition to achieve a uniform AgNW network. The entire stack undergoes photonic curing, a low-energy annealing method that can be completed at high speeds and will not damage the plastic substrates. The resulting hybrid TCEs exhibit a transmittance of 92% averaged from 400 nm to 1100 nm and a sheet resistance of 11 Ω/sq. Mechanical durability is tested by bending the hybrid TCEs to a strain of 1% for 2000 cycles. The results show a minimal increase (<5%) in resistance. The high-throughput potential is established by showing that each hybrid TCE fabrication step can be completed at 30 m/min. We further fabricate methylammonium lead iodide solar cells to demonstrate the practical use of these TCEs, achieving an average power conversion efficiency (PCE) of 13%. The high-performance hybrid TCEs produced using R2R-compatible processes show potential as a viable choice for replacing vacuum-deposited indium tin oxide films on PET. |
| format | Article |
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| institution | Kabale University |
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| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-03-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
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| series | Nanomanufacturing |
| spelling | doaj-art-e7e58b03942844d093614a77e4e7fe1b2025-08-20T03:29:44ZengMDPI AGNanomanufacturing2673-687X2025-03-0152510.3390/nanomanufacturing5020005Fabricating Silver Nanowire–IZO Composite Transparent Conducting Electrodes at Roll-to-Roll Speed for Perovskite Solar CellsJustin C. Bonner0Bishal Bhandari1Garrett J. Vander Stouw2Geethanjali Bingi3Kurt A. Schroder4Julia E. Huddy5William J. Scheideler6Julia W. P. Hsu7Department of Materials Science and Engineering, The University of Texas at Dallas, Richardson, TX 75080, USADepartment of Physics, The University of Texas at Dallas, Richardson, TX 75080, USAEnergy Materials Corporation, Rochester, NY 14650, USADepartment of Physics, The University of Texas at Dallas, Richardson, TX 75080, USAPulseForge Inc., Austin, TX 78278, USAThayer School of Engineering, Dartmouth College, Hanover, NH 03755, USAThayer School of Engineering, Dartmouth College, Hanover, NH 03755, USADepartment of Materials Science and Engineering, The University of Texas at Dallas, Richardson, TX 75080, USAThis study addresses the challenges of efficient, large-scale production of flexible transparent conducting electrodes (TCEs). We fabricate TCEs on polyethylene terephthalate (PET) substrates using a high-speed roll-to-roll (R2R) compatible method that combines gravure printing and photonic curing. The hybrid TCEs consist of Ag metal bus lines (Ag MBLs) coated with silver nanowires (AgNWs) and indium zinc oxide (IZO) layers. All materials are solutions deposited at speeds exceeding 10 m/min using gravure printing. We conduct a systematic study to optimize coating parameters and tune solvent composition to achieve a uniform AgNW network. The entire stack undergoes photonic curing, a low-energy annealing method that can be completed at high speeds and will not damage the plastic substrates. The resulting hybrid TCEs exhibit a transmittance of 92% averaged from 400 nm to 1100 nm and a sheet resistance of 11 Ω/sq. Mechanical durability is tested by bending the hybrid TCEs to a strain of 1% for 2000 cycles. The results show a minimal increase (<5%) in resistance. The high-throughput potential is established by showing that each hybrid TCE fabrication step can be completed at 30 m/min. We further fabricate methylammonium lead iodide solar cells to demonstrate the practical use of these TCEs, achieving an average power conversion efficiency (PCE) of 13%. The high-performance hybrid TCEs produced using R2R-compatible processes show potential as a viable choice for replacing vacuum-deposited indium tin oxide films on PET.https://www.mdpi.com/2673-687X/5/2/5transparent conducting electroderoll to rollgravure printingphotonic curingAgNWsflexible |
| spellingShingle | Justin C. Bonner Bishal Bhandari Garrett J. Vander Stouw Geethanjali Bingi Kurt A. Schroder Julia E. Huddy William J. Scheideler Julia W. P. Hsu Fabricating Silver Nanowire–IZO Composite Transparent Conducting Electrodes at Roll-to-Roll Speed for Perovskite Solar Cells Nanomanufacturing transparent conducting electrode roll to roll gravure printing photonic curing AgNWs flexible |
| title | Fabricating Silver Nanowire–IZO Composite Transparent Conducting Electrodes at Roll-to-Roll Speed for Perovskite Solar Cells |
| title_full | Fabricating Silver Nanowire–IZO Composite Transparent Conducting Electrodes at Roll-to-Roll Speed for Perovskite Solar Cells |
| title_fullStr | Fabricating Silver Nanowire–IZO Composite Transparent Conducting Electrodes at Roll-to-Roll Speed for Perovskite Solar Cells |
| title_full_unstemmed | Fabricating Silver Nanowire–IZO Composite Transparent Conducting Electrodes at Roll-to-Roll Speed for Perovskite Solar Cells |
| title_short | Fabricating Silver Nanowire–IZO Composite Transparent Conducting Electrodes at Roll-to-Roll Speed for Perovskite Solar Cells |
| title_sort | fabricating silver nanowire izo composite transparent conducting electrodes at roll to roll speed for perovskite solar cells |
| topic | transparent conducting electrode roll to roll gravure printing photonic curing AgNWs flexible |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2673-687X/5/2/5 |
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