A new method for fabricating ultrathin metal films as scratch-resistant flexible transparent electrodes

Metals are favorable candidates for flexible transparent electrodes because they have high electrical conductivity and good ductility. Theoretically, ultrathin metal films can present low sheet resistance and high transmittance simultaneously. However, due to Ostwald ripening many metal films ( e.g. , Ag) tend to form in island growth mode, leading to isolated metal islands and non-conducting feature until the films become relatively opaque. Here we present a new vacuum deposition method that can effectively suppress the Ostwald ripening in metal films, which become conducting at a thickness much smaller than the percolation threshold. The conducting and transparent metal films are smooth and scratch-resistant, and are stretchable by forming distributed ruptures upon stretching. This work presents a new and versatile strategy to fabricate scratch-resistant flexible transparent electrodes.