Au Nanoparticle Monolayer Nanosheets as Flexible Transparent Conductive Electrodes

Flexible and transparent conductive electrodes are fundamental components used in advanced optical and electronic devices and organic electronics. In this work, we demonstrated a method for fabricating transparent conductive electrodes of Au nanosheets using UV irradiation on Au nanoparticle (AuNP) monolayer on water. The adsorbed AuNP monolayer was formed from the electrostatic attractive force between the anionic capping molecules on AuNPs dispersed in water with a cationic insoluble surfactant monolayer on water. UV irradiation promoted the decomposition of the surfactant deposited on the AuNPs, thereby transforming the AuNPs into mesh-like nanosheets that served as flexible and transparent conducting electrodes. The AuNP dispersions were also proven to be reusable in preparing conductive Au nanosheets for transparent flexible electrodes.