The effects of dry Ar plasma treatment on the optical and electrical properties of transparent silver nanowire electrodes

We investigate the effects of Ar plasma treatment on the optical and electrical properties of transparent silver nanowire (AgNW) electrodes. Brief Ar plasma treatment resulted in a significant decrease in sheet resistance, which showed a reduction of ~40%, while maintaining high optical transmittance. From microstructure analysis and Raman spectroscopy study, we attribute the significant improvement in electrical conductance to the removal of polyvinylpyrrolidone molecules attached to the nanowire surface, which hinder the charge transport between nanowires. In addition, we found that after Ar plasma treatment, color coordination of the transparent AgNW electrodes shifted to the more unsaturated color region, which is more favorable for transparent electronic devices.