Universal assembly of ordered Ag nanowire micromesh conductors on arbitrary substrates by manipulating the contact angle

Abstract

It is desirable in many optoelectronics applications to obtain Ag nanowire (Ag NW) conductors with remarkable electrical homogeneity and thermal stability by uniformly depositing nanowires to reduce local hot spots. Herein, we report a facile template-less spray-assembly strategy to prepare an ordered Ag NW micromesh (Ag NM) inspired by the coffee-ring effect on arbitrary substrates by manipulating the contact angle between the Ag NW ink and substrate surface. We have quantitatively revealed the boundary conditions for the Ag NM formation, which are applicable for various Ag NW inks and dimensions. The excellent electrical and thermal stability of the Ag NM conductor is demonstrated in a transparent electrical heater, which can achieve 160 ± 2 °C at 17 V with homogeneous temperature distribution. Thus, the thermochromic adaptive chameleon and anticounterfeiting label are implemented for artificial camouflage and anticounterfeiting. This methodology provides new insights in controlling the coffee-ring effect and opens a general route for other nanowire assemblies.