Molecular level controlled fabrication of highly transparent conductive reduced graphene oxide/silver nanowire hybrid films

Abstract

Due to the scalability of production and the convenience in processing, graphene oxide (GO) has become an important precursor for the fabrication of transparent conductive films (TCFs). Developing a method to reduce the high contact resistance between the GO sheets, which is mainly due to the presence of a huge number of intersheet junctions, is the key for these applications. Here, we demonstrate a method of molecular level controlled fabrication of hybrid TCFs composed of 1-dimensional (1D) silver nanowires (Ag NWs) and 2-dimensional (2D) reduced graphene oxide (rGO) sheets. The ultra-large graphene oxide (UL-GO) sheets were transferred onto the quartz substrate via the Langmuir–Blodgett (L–B) method and then covered with Ag NW by the spin-coating method. The hybrid film was then reduced by chemical reduction using hydrazine hydrate. Upon varying the amount of Ag NW, the reduced UL-GO/Ag NW hybrid films show low sheet resistance ranging 13 to 48 Ω sq⁻¹ with optical transmittance ranging from 71.9% to 91.2%. The direct current (DC) to optical conductivity ratio of the hybrid films can reach up to 81, which is comparable to that of indium tin oxide (ITO).