Electrospinning-derived ultrafine silver-carbon composite nanofibers for flexible transparent conductive films

Ultrafine silver/carbon composite nanofibers (Ag/CNFs) were prepared by electrospinning. Silver nanoparticles were uniformly distributed in the fibers and enhanced their conductivity to some degree. Partial substitution of silver nanowires (AgNWs) with Ag/CNFs to fabricate transparent conductive films (TCFs) was investigated. The order of depositing Ag/CNFs and AgNWs exerted a great effect on the properties of the TCFs, and deposition first of AgNWs followed by Ag/CNFs was preferred. With the increase of the density of the deposited Ag/CNFs, the sheet resistance of the TCFs firstly decreased obviously and then increased slightly after reaching a minimum value. When decreasing the fiber diameter, the transparency increased dramatically, while the conductivity changed slightly. The TCFs fabricated using the Ag/CNFs with a fiber diameter of about 30 nm and a substitution value of 41.7% had a sheet resistance of 124.5 Ω sq^-1 and a transparency of 88.0%, while a sheet resistance of 83.0 Ω sq^-1 and a transparency of 87.5% could be achieved if lowering the amount of substitution to 28.3%; and after experiencing proper heat treatment and acid immersion, the conductivity could be further improved to 50.0 Ω sq^-1. Additionally, it was found that the as-prepared hybrid TCFs exhibited good flexibility, strong adhesion, and good resistance to high temperature as well as strong acid conditions.