Ultrathin In2O3 shells enable chemically robust silver nanowire transparent heaters

Abstract

Silver nanowire networks are attractive transparent-heater electrodes but are vulnerable to oxidation, sulfidation, and ion-assisted corrosion. Herein, an ultrathin indium oxide shell was grown directly on silver nanowire (Ag@In 2 O 3 NW) networks through a room-temperature, atmospheric-pressure liquid-phase process. High-resolution transmission electron microscopy, selected-area electron diffraction, and energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy confirmed a conformal core-shell structure with an approximately 4 nm indium oxide shell while preserving the percolative network and optical apertures. The optimized Ag@In 2 O 3 NW electrode exhibited 87.7% transmittance at 550 nm and a sheet resistance of 11.2 Ω/sq, with an optoelectronic figure of merit comparable to that of pristine silver nanowire networks. The corresponding flexible transparent heater provided tunable steady-state temperatures from 31 to 163 °C under 1–5 V and reached thermal equilibrium within 30 s. The shell markedly improved resistance to oxidative, sulfide, chloride, ferric-ion, humid-heat, and ambient degradation. It also retained stable conductivity at a bending radius of 0.7 mm and maintained a relative resistance change below 1.1% after 3000 bending cycles. This work provides a simple route to durable, flexible, low-voltage transparent heaters.