Highly flexible and conductive composite films of silk fibroin and silver nanowires for optoelectronic devices

• Published in: RSC advances Vol. 5; no. 63; pp. 5878 - 5882
• Main Authors: Qi, Ning, Zhao, Bing, Wang, Shu-Dong, Al-Deyab, Salem S, Zhang, Ke-Qin
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: 01.01.2015
• Subjects: Conductivity; Nanostructure; Nanowires; Optoelectronic devices; Resistivity; Silk fibroin; Silver; Transmittance
• ISSN: 2046-2069; 2046-2069
• DOI: 10.1039/c5ra03501e

Silver nanowire-coated silk fibroin (SF) was used to create composite films with high flexibility, good electrical conductivity and excellent mechanical properties. SF was coated with a layer of entangled silver nanowires (AgNWs) that were sputtered with a platinum layer. The SF-AgNWs composite films exhibited excellent performance with a conductivity of ∼15.0 Ω sq −1 and transmittance of ∼80% in the visible light range. The films also retained conductivity even after being bent hundreds of times; this recovery was attributed to the structure of the embedded AgNWs in SF, and metallic contacts among the AgNWs induced by the ion sputtering. The SF-AgNWs composite films also showed promise in practical applications, including as a conduit to light emitting diodes (LEDs). These novel composite films could be used to fabricate wearable electronics and implantable devices. Silver nanowire-coated silk fibroin composite films assisted by ion sputtering exhibited excellent flexibility, conductivity, which used to light LED device.