Energy & Environmental Science Volume 6 Issue 6 2013 (Doi 10.1039/C3EE24306K) Jin, Jungho Lee, Jaemin Jeong, Seonju Yang, SeungCheol Ko, J - High-Performance Hybrid Plastic Films - A Robust Elec

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High-performance hybrid plastic lms: a robust

electrode platform for thin-lm optoelectronics
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Published on 24 January 2013 on http://pubs.rsc.org | doi:10.1039/C3EE24306K
Cite this: DOI: 10.1039/c3ee24306k
Jungho Jin,ac Jaemin Lee,bc Seonju Jeong,bc SeungCheol Yang,ac Ji-Hoon Ko,ac
Hyeon-Gyun Im,ac Se-Woong Baek,bc Jung-Yong Lee*bc and Byeong-Soo Bae*ac
We report a novel exible hybrid plastic lm that can be used as a robust electrode platform for typical thinlm optoelectronic devices. Silver nanowires (AgNWs) were embedded on the surface of a glass-fabric
reinforced transparent composite (GFRHybrimer) lm to form a exible transparent conducting
Received 9th December 2012
Accepted 23rd January 2013
substrate with excellent opto-electrical properties, superior thermal stability, and impressive mechanical
exibility. A highly ecient and exible inverted organic solar cell with a power conversion eciency
(PCE) of 5.9% under 100 mW cm2 AM 1.5G illumination was fabricated on the AgNWGFRHybrimer
DOI: 10.1039/c3ee24306k
lm. The AgNWGFRHybrimer lm exhibits potential as an excellent transparent electrode for low cost
www.rsc.org/ees
exible optoelectronic devices.
Broader context
Flexible optoelectronic devices need high performance exible substrates, but typical plastic substrates are not appropriate especially due to their low glass
transition temperature. Here, we propose a highly transparent, mechanically and thermally robust electrode platform for thin-lm optoelectronic devices.
Utilizing the platform, an organic solar cell (OSC) showing the power conversion eciency as high as 5.9% was achieved. The newly suggested material
composite would open up practical uses of exible substrates for high performance thin-lm optoelectronic and energy conversion devices.
Introduction
A transparent conducting electrode (TCE) is a salient component of thin-lm optoelectronic devices such as thin-lm solar
cells and displays.1 Highly exible transparent conducting
electrodes are especially demanded for the next generation of
such devices. Recently, conventional transparent conductors
based on metal oxides typied by indium tin oxide (ITO) have
faced challenges from several potential contenders such as
those based on carbon nanotubes (CNT),2,3 graphenes,46 conducting polymers,7,8 and metal nanowires (NWs).9,10 For a viable
and progressive replacement of ITO, these emerging conductors
must be equipped with excellent mechanical exibility and also
compatibility with low-cost fabrication while properly realizing
excellent opto-electrical performances of ITO.
a
Department of Materials Science and Engineering (MSE), Korea Advanced Institute of

Science and Technology (KAIST), Daejeon, Rep. of Korea. E-mail: bsbae@kaist.ac.kr;
Fax: +82 42 350 3310; Tel: +82 42 350 5119
Graduate School of Energy, Environment, Water, and Sustainability (EEWS), Korea

Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST), Daejeon, Rep. of Korea.
E-mail: jungyong.lee@kaist.ac.kr; Fax: +82 42 350 2248; Tel: +82 42 350 1722
c
KI for the NanoCentury, Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST),
Daejeon, Rep. of Korea
Electronic supplementary information (ESI) available: Fabrication of

AgNWGFRHybrimer lms, stability of AgNWGFRHybrimer lms. See DOI:
10.1039/c3ee24306k
These two authors contributed equally to this work.
This journal is The Royal Society of Chemistry 2013
Random networks of silver nanowires (AgNWs) are considered one of the most promising alternatives particularly for
transparent electrodes used in organic solar cells (OSCs) and
organic light emitting diodes (OLEDs).1115 Rationales for this
trend include the high percolative gure of merit of AgNW
lms compared to the carbon-based systems (i.e., CNTs and
graphene) as reported by Coleman et al.16,17 Especially, the
relatively large haze of AgNW electrodes is even advantageous in
obtaining higher power conversion eciencies (PCE) of OSCs as
reported by Peumans and Cui et al.18 However, the rough
surface topology of AgNW electrodes has posed a major obstacle
in the advancement of thin-lm optoelectronic devices, because
the roughness is likely to cause short circuits in the devices. The
roughness of the deposited AgNW networks on a at substrate
is intrinsically large; the peak-to-peak is more than double the
diameter of the wires, because the random networks are
arranged through stacking of the wires. Several proof-of-concept
strategies have been reported for manipulating the rough
surface topology of AgNW electrodes: for example, applying
high pressure (103 kgf cm2) to mechanically atten deposited AgNWs,12 embedding AgNWs on polymer matrices such as
polyvinyl alcohols and poly acrylates,15,19 and a combination
thereof.20
The thermal stability of the exible substrate is another issue
to be addressed. Aer the deposition of AgNWs, the networks of
AgNWs generally undergo heat-treatment to ensure better
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NWNW contacts, allowing eective reduction of the sheet
resistance.13,21 In addition, in the case of typical bulk heterojunction (BHJ) OSCs, subsequent heat-treatment up to 200 C
(ref. 22 and 23) may also be required for the formation of
organic layers such as metal oxide interfacial layers and active
organic layers. Common plastic substrates, such as polyethylene terephthalate (PET), which have poor thermomechanical properties,24 impose an upper limit on the process
temperature during device fabrication, which would in turn
degrade the overall device performance.25
Based on the considerations noted above and industrial
demands, the following characteristics of a exible TCE are
required for realizing highly ecient exible optoelectronic
devices: (1) the sheet resistance must not be compromised for
higher optical transmittance; (2) the performance has to be
mechanically reliable; (3) the surface roughness has to be
extremely low (a few nanometers are preferred); and (4) the
TCE should be able to withstand high temperature as dictated
by the optimal conditions for device fabrication.
Herein, we report a high-performance transparent conducting plastic lm that can work as a robust electrode platform for
typical thin-lm optoelectronic devices. Our hybrid plastic lm
(hereaer, AgNWGFRHybrimer lm) is composed of a highperformance glass-fabric reinforced transparent composite
(GFRHybrimer) lm26 as a base lm and random networks of
AgNWs with excellent opto-electrical properties monolithically
embedded on the surface as an electrode. The resulting
monolithic hybrid structure of the AgNWGFRHybrimer lm
simultaneously provides a very smooth surface topology (<2 nm)
and excellent thermo-mechanical performance including a low
CTE (15 ppm C1) with an almost Tg-less character (Fig. S1).
We demonstrate highly ecient inverted OSCs with a PCE of
5.9% under AM 1.5G illumination at 100 mW cm2 on the novel
high-performance plastic lms. In this study, we discuss the
fabrication and basic properties of the AgNWGFRHybrimer
lm, and also elaborate on the performance of an OSC
employing an AgNWGFRHybrimer lm as the device platform.
Results and discussion

The AgNWs used in this study were prepared with a modied
recipe reported by Yang et al.27 (Experimental section), and the
average diameter and length of the AgNWs were 70.3 nm and
11 mm, respectively (Fig. S2). Fig. 1a illustrates the fabrication
procedure to create the AgNWGFRHybrimer lm: (I and II)
while spray-coated AgNWs on a glass donor substrate were
prepared (refer to ESI), woven glass-fabrics (Fig. 1b) were
placed on another pre-cleaned glass substrate and the glassfabrics were impregnated with a UV-curable thermoset resin
consisting of a solgel derived cyclo-aliphatic epoxy hybrid
material (hybrimer) as a base resin, bis[1-ethyl(3-oxetanyl)]
methyl ether (DOX) as a cross-linker, and triarylsulfonium
hexauoroantimonate salt as an initiator for cationic photopolymerization (Fig. S4);26,28 (III) the impregnated sample was
covered with the pre-formed AgNWs on glass; (IV) this sandwiched sample was then compressed and irradiated under UV
light (l 365 nm, He-lamp) to cure the matrix resin; and nally,
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(V) an AgNWGFRHybrimer lm was obtained aer separating
the two donor glasses.
The exceptionally smooth surface topology is a distinct
feature of embedded AgNW electrodes prepared via the monolithic transfer process described above.11,15,19 The most plausible
explanation for the transfer mechanism is that the matrix
physically seizes AgNW networks, provided that there are no
chemical interactions at the AgNWmatrix interface. In the
AgNWGFRHybrimer lm fabrication, extremely few AgNWs
remained on the original donor glass substrate aer the transfer process (ESI, Fig. S5). In addition, the tightening eect
provided by the hybrimer matrix allows improved NWNW
contact, resulting in a slightly decreased Rsh compared to the
original Rsh of pre-formed AgNWs on the donor glass substrate
prior to transfer. The reduction of the Rsh value suggests that
the highly cross-linked network structure of the hybrimer
provides sucient matrix rigidity,29 which in turn enables
almost complete transfer of AgNWs and tight anchoring of the
AgNW networks (Tables S2 and S3). In a control experiment, we
tested the transfer of AgNWs using a polydimethylsiloxane
(PDMS) matrix. However, we found that the transfer of the
AgNWs was unfeasible, which could be possibly due to the
inherent soness of the PDMS (Table S3) given that there are
no predominant interactions at the matrixAgNW interface in
terms of chemical bonding.
The direct transfer of the AgNW networks during the lm
production allows the networks to be monolithically embedded
at the surface of the nal composite lm, providing an
extremely smooth surface topology. Fig. 1c and d show scanning
electron microscopy (SEM) images of the surface of the AgNW
GFRHybrimer lm; AgNW networks are well embedded at the
surface. Fig. 1e shows an atomic force microscopy (AFM) image
of the lm and a contour prole of embedded AgNWs along the
dashed line (right graph). Note that the root-mean-square
surface roughness (Rrms) was merely 1.4 nm and the maximum
peak-to-peak range of the AgNWGFRHybrimer lm was 12 nm.
Fig. 1f shows a photograph of a 13 13 cm2 AgNWGFRHybrimer lm (Rsh 20 U sq1 and T 93%). The resulting
thickness of the AgNWGFRHybrimer lm was approximately
60 mm.
As illustrated in Fig. 2a, SEM analyses revealed that some
AgNW strands protruded on the surface of the AgNWGFRHybrimer lm. Conceivably, the protruded AgNWs were generated
during the donor glass separation, primarily when a part of the
AgNWs is being strained at the glass surface.20 The height of the
protrusion can reach a few microns. This can cause device
failure such as short-circuit, even with a low level of such
protrusions. In order to trim the protrusions, we developed a
facile method to eliminate the surface defects and retrieve a
smooth surface: the protrusions of AgNW could be eectively
removed by simply scrubbing the surface with a so microber
cloth, as shown in Fig. 2b. The scrubbing process is straightforward, pressure-free, and thus fully process-compatible.
Among all factors, the opto-electrical property of the TCE is
the integral gure of merit to determine the applicability of the
TCE in typical optoelectronic devices. Total optical transmittances (Ttot) of AgNWGFRHybrimer lms with various Rsh
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Fig. 1 Fabrication of an AgNWGFRHybrimer lm. (a) Schematic illustration of the procedure to fabricate the AgNWGFRHybrimer lm: (I and II) the AgNW solution is
spray-coated on a donor glass and, meanwhile, woven glass fabrics are settled on another pre-cleaned donor glass and impregnated with the hybrimer resin; (III) the
two donor glasses are sandwiched and pressed in a vacuum bag molding instrument; (IV) after UV-curing the sample, (V) the AgNWGFRHybrimer lm can be obtained
by removing both donor glass substrates. (b) SEM image of the woven glass fabric (E-glass). (c and d) SEM surface images of the AgNWGFRHybrimer lm (tilted and
top view, respectively), showing monolithically embedded AgNWs on the lm surface. (e) AFM image (scan area: 10 10 mm2) of the AgNWGFRHybrimer lm. The
right graph shows the contour prole of embedded AgNWs along the dashed line from the AFM image. The Rrms and peak-to-peak values are 1.4 nm and 12 nm,
respectively. (f) A photograph of a 13 13 cm2 AgNWGFRHybrimer lm (the inset photograph is taken at outdoors).
values (15, 22, and 200 U sq1) were assessed using a UV-visible
spectrometer (UV-vis) equipped with an integrating sphere.
Fig. 3a shows the UV-vis spectra of AgNWGFRHybrimer lms
measured under ambient baseline conditions, and the transmittances at 550 nm vs. the sheet resistance are listed in Table
S1. We conrmed that the optical and electrical characteristics
of the AgNW TCE on the GFRHybrimer lm are consistent with
those from glass substrate counterparts reported previously,13,18
showing comparable performance to ITO. The slightly lower
transmittance at the same Rsh is attributed to the lower transmittance of the neat GFRHybrimer lm (90%)26 compared to
that of glass.
The mechanical durability of a TCE is of prime importance
in exible optoelectronic devices. The bending durability of the
AgNWGFRHybrimer lm was assessed using a bending test
tool (Fig. 3b inset). For comparison, a commercial polyethylene
naphthalate (PEN) lm with a sputtered ITO electrode was also

tested. As shown in Fig. 3b, the AgNWGFRHybrimer lm
tolerated 105 bending cycles (bending radius: 5 mm) and
completely retained its initial electrical performance aer the
test, thus indicating that the hybrid conducting lms have
excellent exibility. In contrast, the Rsh of the ITO/PEN lm
(thickness: 200 mm) degraded catastrophically even aer only a
few bending cycles. Also, the mechanical abrasion resistance of
the AgNWGFRHybrimer lm was checked via a tape test and
an eraser test (under sucient nger-pressure conditions), and
we conrmed that the Rsh of the AgNWGFRHybrimer lms
was preserved aer both tests (Fig. S6). Considering its
excellent mechanical robustness, as demonstrated above, the
AgNWGFRHybrimer lm has a strong potential to nd
application as a TCE platform in exible thin-lm optoelectronic devices.
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Fig. 2 Surface SEM analyses of an AgNWGFRHybrimer lm. In some occasions

where there is unbalanced separation of the donor glasses, protrusion of AgNWs
can occur on the lm surface. These defects can be tractably removed by gently
scrubbing the surface. (a) Protrusion of AgNWs on the AgNWGFRHybrimer lm.
(b) After scrubbing the surface with a microber cloth.
As outlined earlier, exible conducting lms should be able

to withstand high temperature in post-processing steps in order
to guarantee high device performance. The thermo-mechanical
stability of the AgNWGFRHybrimer lm was also evaluated by
directly measuring Rsh while the samples were placed on a hot
plate (Fig. 4a); the temperature of the hot plate was set to 250 C.
To perform the in situ Rsh-measurement, two separate electrical
contacts of silver paste were formed on the AgNWGFRHybrimer lm (Rsh 23 U sq1) and the resistance between the
two contacts was checked using a multimeter. Conducting lms
of AgNWs/PEN (Rsh 24 U sq1) and ITO/PEN (Rsh 15 U sq1)
were also tested for comparison. As shown in Fig. 4a, severe
deformations were observed in the AgNWs/PEN and ITO/PEN
lms during (and even aer) the test, while the AgNW
GFRHybrimer lm maintained its original shape and dimensions. In addition, as shown in Fig. 4b, the in situ Rsh
measurements revealed that the Rsh of both the AgNWs/PEN
and ITO/PEN lms signicantly increased, primarily due to the
deformation of the base PEN lm. In contrast, the AgNW
GFRHybrimer lm showed stable electrical performance,
reecting the excellent thermo-mechanical stability of the
AgNWGFRHybrimer lm. Intriguingly, the Rsh of the AgNW
GFRHybrimer lm further decreased by 17% (from 23 U sq1 to
19 U sq1) even aer 30 min of heat-treatment. This
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Fig. 3 Optical and mechanical properties of AgNWGFRHybrimer lms. (a) UVvis spectra of AgNWGFRHybrimer lms with dierent Rsh (15, 22, and 200 U
sq1). The spectra were obtained with respect to air baseline. (b) Bending test
results of an AgNWGFRHybrimer lm (Rsh 46 U sq1). An ITO/PEN lm was
tested for comparison (the top and right axes are for ITO/PEN). The inset illustrates the experimental setup for the bending test (bending radius: 5 mm).
phenomenon can be considered in light of our observation that

the Rsh of the AgNW TCE on a bare glass substrate increases
past the optimal annealing conditions (250 C, 20 min),
primarily due to disconnection of the AgNWs. We presume that
the decrease of the Rsh of the AgNWGFRHybrimer lm can be
attributed to the thermal-stable rigid hybrimer matrix, which
prevents disconnection of the AgNWs and thus renders better
NWNW contact, even at high temperature.
To verify the potential of the AgNWGFRHybrimer lm as a
exible TCE lm for optoelectronic devices, inverted BHJ OSCs
using
poly[[9-(1-octylnonyl)-9H-carbazole-2,7-diyl]-2,5-thiophenediyl-2,1,3-benzothiadiazole-4,7-diyl-2,5-thiophenediyl]
and phenyl-c71-butyric acid methyl ester (PCDTBT:PC71BM)
were fabricated on AgNWGFRHybrimer lm (T 81% at
550 nm, haze 22.7%, and Rsh z 13 U sq1) substrates. The
inverted structure was chosen because it exhibits better lifetimes
compared to normal structure OSCs as a result of the elimination
of acidic PEDOT:PSS and the use of air-stable high work function
metals. From a manufacturing point of view, inverted OSCs are
also advantageous in that they facilitate implementation of an
all-solution process and roll-to-roll production using exible
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Fig. 4 High-temperature thermo-mechanical stability test of an AgNWGFRHybrimer lm. (a) Photographs showing AgNWGFRHybrimer (23 U sq1), AgNWs/PEN
(24 U sq1), and ITO/PEN (15 U sq1) lms before, on a hot plate (250 C), and after the test. Note that both AgNWs/PEN and ITO/PEN lms showed signicant
deformation. (b) In situ Rsh measurement of AgNWGFRHybrimer, AgNWs/PEN, and ITO/PEN lms. Both PEN-based conducting lms show constant degradation of
their electrical properties, primarily due to severe deformation of the base PEN lm.
substrates. It is worth noting that the weight per unit area of the
AgNWGFRHybrimer was 0.127 mg mm2, which is approximately 2.6-fold lighter than that of PET. As shown in Fig. 5a, the
exible device structure was AgNWGFRHybrimer/ZnO/
PCDTBT:PC71BM/MoO3/Ag, and a control device was fabricated
on an ITO/glass substrate (T 88.8% at 550 nm, haze < 1% and
Rsh 20 U sq1). In the inverted BHJ OSCs, the solgel derived
ZnO lm required annealing at a high temperature exceeding
200 C so that it would properly function as an ecient electron
transport layer. Note that the excellent thermo-mechanical
stability of the AgNWGFRHybrimer lm enabled such hightemperature annealing during device fabrication, which is not a
simple task with typical plastic lms such as PET and PEN, which
possess high CTE and low Tg.
Representative current densityvoltage (JV) characteristics
of the device on the AgNWGFRHybrimer lm and the ITO/glass
substrate under 100 mW cm2 AM 1.5G illumination are shown
in Fig. 5b. The ITO/glass control device showed a PCE of 5.99%
with an open circuit voltage (Voc) of 0.87 V, a short circuit
current density (Jsc) of 11.29 mA cm2, and a ll factor (FF) of
61%. The device on the AgNWGFRHybrimer lm showed
similar performance, exhibiting a PCE of 5.90% with a Voc of
0.85 V, a Jsc of 11.51 mA cm2 and a FF of 60%. As evidenced by
the haze of 22.7%, ecient light scattering induced at the
Fig. 5 Inverted organic solar cell device fabrication. (a) Schematic illustration of the device structure and (b) current densityvoltage characteristics of inverted OSCs on
an AgNWGFRHybrimer lm (circles) and on ITO/glass (squares) under 100 mW cm2 AM 1.5G illumination. Inset: a photograph of the OSC on the AgNWGFRHybrimer lm.
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Table 1 Photovoltaic performance of the inverted OSCs on an AgNWGFRHybrimer and on ITO/glass under 100 mW cm2 AM 1.5G illumination
Device
Voc [V]
Jsc [mA cm2]
FF
PCE [%]
On AgNWGFRHybrimer
On ITO/glass
0.85
0.87
11.51
11.29
0.60
0.61
5.90
5.99
AgNWhybrimer matrix interfaces led to a slightly higher Jsc

compared to the control device. The Voc of the device on the
AgNWGFRHybrimer lm was slightly lower than that of the
control device, possibly due to the higher work function of
AgNWs (5.02 eV) compared to that of ITO (4.95 eV), which might
have caused a relatively dicult electron collection in the
inverted OSCs.30,31 Table 1 summarizes the device performance
of the inverted OSCs on the AgNWGFRHybrimer lm and ITO/
glass.
To the best of our knowledge, the PCE of 5.9% has been the
highest value amongst the reported inverted OSCs fabricated on
exible substrates. We believe that the unprecedented device
performance with high yield and reproducibility beneted from
(1) the extremely smooth surface, (2) excellent thermal stability,
and (3) superb opto-electrical properties of the AgNWGFRHybrimer lms, thus demonstrating the potential of this lm as an
attractive exible TCE platform.
The air stability of the inverted OSC on the AgNWGFRHybrimer lm was investigated as a function of storage time in air
and a glove box, as shown in Fig. S7a. The non-passivated
devices exhibited remarkable air stability, comparable to the
device performance when stored in N2, owing to the durability
of the AgNWGFRHybrimer lm and the silver electrode. The
PCE remained at approximately 40% of the initial value even
aer storage in air for 25 days. Although the inverted OSC on the
AgNWGFRHybrimer lm exhibited air stability, as generally
known, silver forms a thin oxide layer upon long-term exposure
to air, resulting in degradation of device performance over the
long term. Therefore, the study of eective passivation methods
in devices on the AgNWGFRHybrimer lm to enhance longterm stability is underway.
The mechanical exibility of the inverted OSCs on the
AgNWGFRHybrimer lm was briey investigated by calculating the PCE in repeated bending cycles with a bending radius
of 5 mm. The PCE of the devices remained almost constant
during and aer the bending test up to 200 cycles, resulting
from the superior exibility of the AgNWGFRHybrimer lm.
In summary, we demonstrated highly ecient, air-stable
inverted BHJ OSCs using a novel, high-performance composite
lm with a monolithically embedded AgNW TCE. The OSC
fabricated on the exible AgNWGFRHybrimer lm showed a
PCE of 5.90% under 100 mW cm2 AM 1.5G illumination, which
was comparable to that of a device fabricated on ITO/glass.
Furthermore, the exible OSC on the AgNWGFRHybrimer lm
showed superior mechanical stability in the bending test. Given
the excellent opto-electrical properties, high exibility, and
thermal stability of the AgNWGFRHybrimer lm, we believe
the present work will open up a new route for fabricating highly
ecient optoelectronic devices via cost eective and scalable
roll-to-roll processes by employing the AgNWGFRHybrimer

lm as a exible TCE.
Experimental
AgNW synthesis
AgNW solutions were prepared based on a modied polyol
process.27 Briey, 5.86 g of PVP (polyvinylpyrrolidone) (Mw:
55 000) was dissolved in 190 ml of glycerol and was heated at
100 C for 1 hour to remove the moisture remaining in PVP. The
solution was then cooled to room temperature. A mixture of
sodium chloride (Sigma Aldrich, 0.059 g), deionized water
(0.5 ml), and glycerol (10 ml) was added into the previously
prepared solution with the addition of 1.58 g of silver nitrate.
The suspension was gradually heated to 160 C over a period of
30 min and le for 1 hour for additional reaction. The nal
production was ltered using glass lters with pore sizes of 10
16 mm and stored in methanol.
Spray-deposition of AgNWs
The back pressure (nitrogen) was 0.1 MPa and the ow rate of
the AgNW suspension was 3 ml min1. The substrate-to-nozzle
distance was xed to 13 cm for uniform distribution of NWs.
The substrate temperature was 100 C to evaporate the solvent
immediately. The scan speed of the nozzle was 4000 inch per
min and the moisture in the spray booth was maintained at
30%. The concentration of the suspension was 0.6 mg ml1.
The matrix resin cyclo-aliphatic epoxy hybrid resin
(hybrimer), the base resin, was synthesized by a method
described elsewhere.29 In brief, 2-(3,4-epoxycyclohexyl)ethyltrimethoxysilane (ECTS, Gelest) and diphenylsilanediol (DPSD,
Gelest) were mixed in a two-neck ask with a molar ratio of
1 : 1.5, and barium hydroxide monohydrate (Sigma Aldrich) was
added in an amount of 0.2 mol% of the total silane precursors
(refer to Fig. S4 for chemical structures). A clear viscous resin
was obtained aer 4 hours of solgel reaction under N2 purging.
Then, 3-ethyl-3[(3-ethyloxetane-3-yl)methoxy]methyl oxetane
(DOX; Toagosei, Japan) of varying amounts was mixed, and
triarylsulfonium hexauoroantimonate salt was added as a
photo-initiator in an amount of 2 wt% of the total resin mixture.
Measurement of Rsh
The Rsh of the AgNWGFRHybrimer lms was measured with a
4-point probe sheet resistance meter, and the measured Rsh
values were also crosschecked using a multimeter. Fig. S6b
illustrates the experimental setup for the Rsh-measurement,
where the 4-point probe system measures the standard Rsh of
the samples while the resistance between two electrical contacts
made of silver paste the area between them is square-shaped
is checked using the multimeter (Fig. S6b). As is shown, the Rsh
values determined by both methods are almost identical. This
indicates that the electrical performance of the embedded
AgNW electrode is homogeneous over a large area. The spatial
uniformity of the sheet resistance values was ca. 2.6%
throughout the lm.
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Device fabrication
First, an AgNWGFRHybrimer lm with a patterned AgNW
electrode was produced and attached to a glass substrate. The
formation of a patterned AgNW electrode can be achieved
simply by transferring pre-formed AgNWs with desired patterns
on glass. We conrmed that the denition of the pattern does
not collapse during the transfer process. The AgNWGFRHybrimer lms (or glass/ITO) were cleaned by ultrasonic treatment
in detergent, de-ionized water, and isopropyl alcohol sequentially and then dried in a vacuum oven. Next, UV-ozone treatment of the AgNWGFRHybrimer lms was conducted for 15
min. A 30 nm-thick solgel derived ZnO layer was spun on the
AgNWGFRHybrimer (or glass/ITO) and annealed at 200 C for
1 h in air. Aer the substrate was transferred into a nitrogenlled glove box, 80 nm-thick BHJ layers were spin-coated from a
solution of PCDTBT:PC71BM (35 mg ml1, 1 : 4 v/v) in odichlorobenzene and dried at 70 C for 20 min in the glove box.
A MoO3 layer (10 nm) and an Ag layer (100 nm) were sequentially deposited on top of the BHJ layer through a shadow mask
by thermal evaporation at 7 107 Torr. The active area of the
fabricated devices was in a range of 0.100.15 cm2. Current
densityvoltage (JV) curves were measured using a solar
simulator (PEC-L12, Peccell Technologies) under 100 mW cm2
from a 150 W Xe short arc lamp ltered by an AM 1.5G lter.
Acknowledgements
We sincerely appreciate the nancial support of the Basic
Science Research Program through the National Research
Foundation of Korea (NRF) funded by the Ministry of Education, Science and Technology (MEST) (2012-0003991). We also
gratefully acknowledge support from the Center for Inorganic
Photovoltaic Materials (2012-0001172) through a grant funded
by the MEST, a National Research Foundation of Korea (NRF)
grant funded by the MEST (2012-0000822), grant no. EEWS2012-N01120012 from the EEWS Research Project of the oce
of the KAIST EEWS Initiative, KAIST Institute for the NanoCentury, and Samsung Display Co. J. Lee and S. Jeong
acknowledge nancial support from the Global Ph.D. Fellowship Program, bestowed by the NRF.
Notes and references

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Energy & Environmental Science Volume 6 Issue 6 2013 (Doi 10.1039/C3EE24306K) Jin, Jungho Lee, Jaemin Jeong, Seonju Yang, SeungCheol Ko, J - High-Performance Hybrid Plastic Films - A Robust Elec

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Energy & Environmental Science Volume 6 Issue 6 2013 (Doi 10.1039/C3EE24306K) Jin, Jungho Lee, Jaemin Jeong, Seonju Yang, SeungCheol Ko, J - High-Performance Hybrid Plastic Films - A Robust Elec

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Energy &

High-performance hybrid plastic lms: a robust

Cite this: DOI: 10.1039/c3ee24306k

exible optoelectronic devices.

Department of Materials Science and Engineering (MSE), Korea Advanced Institute of

Graduate School of Energy, Environment, Water, and Sustainability (EEWS), Korea

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