Highly reliable MoOx/Ag NW bilayer transparent conductive thin films fabricated by all solution process and transparent heater application

The chemical instability and the decomposition of Ag nanowires (NWs) during thermal process can result in irreversible structural damage, suppressing the practical use of pure Ag NWs based transparent conductive thin films (TCTFs). In this paper, novel MoOx/Ag NW bilayer TCTFs are uniformly fabricated on glass substrates via all solution process. The electrical and optical properties of MoOx/Ag NW bilayers can be controlled by the density of the Ag NW networks. At optimal preparation conditions, MoOx/Ag NW bilayer thin films show low sheet resistance of 10.8 Ω/sq. and high optical transmittance of 85% in the visible region. The covering of MoOx layer improves the thermal stability and adhesivity of the Ag NW networks. Especially, the MoOx/Ag NW bilayer thin films are robust and able to withstand a high temperature of 300 °C in air, without deterioration of performance. The resistance does not show significant change after taping test, indicating a strong adhesion of Ag NWs to the substrate. In contrast to the degradation of pure Ag NW networks including the significant reduction of its conductivity when subjected to a series of harsh corrosion environments, the MoOx/Ag NW bilayer thin films survive structurally and retain their conductivity. Finally, the bilayer thin film is chosen to fabricate a transparent heater, which exhibits excellent heating performance. Its deicing and defogging availabilities are also shown by deicing and defogging tests.