Metal nanowires for transparent conductive electrodes in flexible chromatic devices: a review

Smart electronics and optoelectronics such as smart windows, touch panels and solar cells have profoundly changed our lives over the last decade, as a result of the development of transparent conductive electrodes. In particular, indium tin oxide-based electrodes dominate the market of the electronic and optoelectronic devices, but these electrodes have limitations. For instance, indium ores are only found in a few countries, such as China, Peru and Canada, thus limiting the global competitiveness of some countries. Moreover, indium tin oxide is quite brittle and easy to crack, thus unsuitable in flexible electronics. These issues may be solved by developing metal nanowire-based transparent conductive electrodes, such as Cu, Ag and Au nanowire electrodes. Here, we review the latest advances for metal nanowire-based transparent conductive electrodes, including the strategies for the synthesis of metal nanowires, the preparation of metal nanowire films by various solution-based deposition processes and their practical applications as electrodes in diverse flexible chromic devices.