Silver Nanorings: New Generation of Transparent Conductive Films

Low-cost and high yield silver nanorings with the uniform ring diameter of 15 +/- 5 mu m and thickness of 120 +/- 20 nm were synthesized via a simple solvothermal method. Based on our knowledge, this is the first time that a solvothermal method is used to prepare silver nanorings. Herein, by using ammonium salts as additive salts in the presence of pressure (150 kPa) inside the reactor, the reproducibility and yield of nanorings increased. The prepared silver nanorings easily dispersed in ethanol and have been coated by spray method on PET substrate to make flexible transparent conductive films (TCF). The film based on nanorings was shown better opto-electrical properties (higher transparency with lower haze) in comparison with nanowires with higher aspect ratio and lower thickness, at the same sheet resistance (Rs). These results introduce silver nanorings as outstanding candidates for optoelectronics applications.