In Situ Surface Oxidized Copper Mesh Electrodes for High-Performance Transparent Electrical Heating and Electromagnetic Interference Shielding

Metallic mesh is a significant candidate of transparent conductive electrodes (TCEs) to substitute the current state-of-the-art material indium tin oxide for optoelectronic devices. However, there remains a challenge to fabricate stable and good-visibility metallic mesh with the low-cost copper (Cu) material. A metallic Cu mesh electrode (on glass) with a high absolute transmittance of ≈82% combined with an adjustable low electrical resistance of ≈0.2 Ω sq⁻¹ and a low total light reflectance of 8.7% is demonstrated here. The Cu mesh TCE shows excellent visibility and good thermal, moisture, and environmental stability that can be used in practical applications. This was achieved by in situ forming an oxidation-resistive and light-absorptive capping layer of oxide on the surface of Cu meshes. The electrode was fabricated by UV-lithography and electroplating, and then directly annealing in the air. To assess the application potentials, transparent electrical heating up to 100 °C under 3 V supply and transparent shielding of radiofrequency with ≈24 dB attenuation in Ku band are achieved. Good photoelectric properties, low-cost material, and excellent stability imply that this Cu mesh electrode is a striking candidate for low-cost TCE for efficient optoelectronic devices.