Low Cost and Facile Fabrication of a Micro-Mold with High Aspect Ratio for Transparent Electrodes with Metal Mesh Using Micro-Scale 3D Printing

作者：Sun, Luanfa; Wang, Rui; Zhu, Xiaoyang^*; Li, Hongke; Zhang, Jinbao; Wang, Fei; Zhang, Guangming; Yang, Jianjun; Peng, Zilong; Zhang, Yuan-Fang; Lan, Hongbo^*

来源：Advanced Materials Technologies, 2022, 7(12): 2200584.

DOI：10.1002/admt.202200584

• high aspect ratio
• metal mesh
• micro-scale 3D printing
• micro-scale mold
• transparent electrodes

Transparent electrodes (TEs) with metal mesh are regarded as a substitute for traditional indium tin oxide (ITO) due to their excellent optoelectronic properties. The manufacture of metal mesh based on micro-molds will be a low-cost and high-efficiency method, but the cost-effective fabrication of micro-molds with a high aspect ratio (AR) currently faces challenges. Here, a polymer micro-mold with high AR based on an electric-field-driven (EFD) micro-scale 3D printing and molding process is proposed for the mass production of TEs with metal meshes. The final fabricated flexible transparent electrode (FTE) based on polymer micro-mold with high AR exhibits superior optoelectronic properties with a figure of merit (FOM) of 1800, as well as excellent mechanical stability with a slight increase in the sheet resistance (R-s) during cyclic bending, scratching, torsion, and adhesion tests. Furthermore, the fabricated rigid TE based on polymer micro-mold shows remarkable performance and stability with a FOM of 2500, a negligible increase in the R-s under harsh working conditions, and a robust heating cycle. Whether used for the manufacture of FTEs or rigid TEs, the polymer micro-mold shows good service life. This strategy provides support for the efficient and environmentally friendly mass production of high-performance TEs.

• 单位
  青岛理工大学