Transparent Conductive Films Derived from Single-Walled Aluminosilicate Nanotubes

This study reports on an approach to enhancing the performance of silver nanowire (AgNW)-based transparent conducive films (TCFs) via introducing an emerging class of nanotubes, aluminosilicate nanotubes (AlSiNTs), which can reduce silver ions to form silver nanoparticles (AgNPs). This reaction was performed in a suspension of AlSiNTs and AgNO3(aq) under ambient conditions, i.e., without the need for additional reducing agents. The results of material characterization suggest that the AlSiNTs collapse after the formation of AgNPs. Computation based on density functional theory (DFT) was used to gain insight into the reducing capability of AlSiNTs. The computational results suggest that octahedral aluminum plays a key role in the transfer of charge from AlSiNTs to the adsorbed silver ions. A solution of AlSiNT–AgNP was mixed with a commercial AgNW suspension and deposited on a flexible PET substrate to form TCFs. The addition of AlSiNT–AgNP was shown to improve the connectivity of AgNWs and thus enhance the overall transparency as well as the conductivity of the TCFs. In fact, the TCFs proposed in this work outperform most existing metal oxide- or AgNW-based TCFs.