Ultra-Highly Cross-Aligned AgNWs Network by a Facile Liquid-Bridge Assisted Couette-Flow Solution Process: Toward Mass-Producing High-Performance Flexible Transparent Electrodes

Cross-aligned silver nanowires (CA-AgNWs), a unique network widely used in flexible transparent electrodes (FTEs), have been well developed using various solu-tion processes. However, these approaches suffer from limitations of both the large alignment deviation and solution waste, especially in large-area fabrica-tion, which deteriorates the performance of FTEs. Herein, we developed a facile liquid-bridge assisted Couette-flow solution shearing approach, which enables aligning AgNWs into a highly ordered hori-zontal array over a large area (120 cm2). Particularly, the alignment deviation, evaluated by the statistic, full width at half-maximum, is rather small with a value of ca. 12.6, several times lower than those made by other solution processes. The fibrous liquid-bridge is re-sponsible for transferring liquid steadily onto the sub-strate, during which process AgNWs are aligned roughly by the solution shearing. It is worth noting that the enhanced shearing force (SF) by Couette-flow allows for further alignment. Consequently, the ultra-highly CA-AgNWs network was prepared, lead-ing to a high-performance FTE with high conductivity (7 omega sq-1), high transparency (93%), long lifetime (over 180 days), good adhesion-stability (200 times tape test), and good flexibility. Moreover, the strategy is applicable for mass-production, benefiting the prac-tical applications of high-performance optoelectronic devices.