Invisible Ag grid embedded with ITO nanoparticle layer as a transparent hybrid electrode

• Ag grid and ITO nanoparticles were assembled to realize printable, transparent conductive electrodes.
• By embedment of invisible Ag grid, we achieved printable ITO electrodes with low Rsh without high temperature annealing.
• Printable Ag grid/ITO NPs hybrid film is a promising printable transparent electrode.

Ag grid and indium tin oxide (ITO) nanoparticles were assembled by electrohydrodynamic (EHD) jet-printing and brush-painting to realize high-quality printable, transparent conductive electrodes. Effective embedment of an EHD jet-printed Ag grid with a line width of 7.5 μm in brush-painted ITO nanoparticles led to an invisible Ag grid/ITO hybrid electrode with a resistivity of 4.20×10−5 Ω-cm and an optical transmittance of 83.72% at the optimized Ag grid pitch of 300 μm. Increased carrier concentration supplied by the EHD jet-printed Ag grid reduced the resistivity of Ag grid/ITO hybrid electrodes compared to that of metallic electrodes. The good match between calculated and measured figure of merit values based on the filling factor (fF) indicated that embedment of an EHD jet-printed Ag grid in brush-painted ITO nanoparticle is an effective approach to obtain high quality printable transparent electrodes for use in all-printable optoelectronic devices.

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