High-performance Ag nanowires synthesized via the synergy of Cl−and Br− in mixed PVP system for transparent conductive electrodes

Silver nanowires have great development potential in the field of transparent electrodes, and their optoelectronic properties are closely related to the morphology and composition. During the synthesis of polyol method, the aspect ratio of AgNWs can be tailored using PVP with different molecular weights, and the diameter of AgNWs can be tuned by incorporating halides. Here, the synergistic effect of Cl− and Br− in the mixed PVP system were deeply investigated by adjusting the concentration ratio of Cl− and Br−. The growth mechanism of silver nanowires was studied by monitoring the acidity of the reaction process. It was found that under the assistance of PVP with different molecular weights, the coordination of Cl− and Br− greatly increased the activation energy of the reaction, which played a key role in the nucleation and growth of AgNWs. As a result, high-quality AgNWs with an average length of 35.7 μm and an average diameter of 67 nm were synthesized at the optimized concentration ratio of Cl− and Br−. Finally, the synthesized silver nanowires were deposited as conductive films on glass to obtain high-performance transparent electrode with a sheet resistance of 22.38 Ω/sq and transmittance of 83.95%.