Communications of the ACM
Innovation Could Bring Flexible Solar Cells, Transistors, Displays
A new transparent electrode could find use in solar cells, flexible displays, and future optoelectronic circuits.
Credit: University of Maryland College Park
Purdue University researchers have developed a type of transparent electrode that could be used in solar cells, flexible displays, and future optoelectronic circuits for sensors and information processing.
The electrode consists of silver nanowires covered in graphene. The hybrid material could be used as a possible replacement for indium tin oxide, which currently is used in transparent electrodes.
"The key innovation is a material that is transparent, yet electrically conductive and flexible," says Purdue professor David Janes.
Purdue professor Muhammad A. Alam says the concept of using a hybrid material represents a general approach that could apply to many other materials. "This is a beautiful illustration of how theory enables a fundamental new way to engineer material at the nanoscale and tailor its properties," Alam says.
Combining graphene and silver nanowires in a hybrid material overcomes shortcomings of each material individually. "Neither is good for conducting electricity, but when you combine them in a hybrid structure, they are," Janes says.
From Purdue University News
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Abstracts Copyright © 2013 Information Inc., Bethesda, Maryland, USA
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