Abstract
As-grown graphene via chemical vapor deposition (CVD) has potential defects, cracks, and disordered grain boundaries induced by the synthesis and transfer process. Graphene/silver nanowire/graphene (Gr/AgNW/Gr) sandwich composite has been proposed to overcome these drawbacks significantly as the AgNW network can provide extra connections on graphene layers to enhance the stiffness and electrical conductivity. However, the existing substrate (polyethylene terephthalate (PET), glass, silicon, and so on) for composite production limits its application and mechanics behavior study. In this work, a vacuum annealing method is proposed and validated to synthesize the free-stand Gr/AgNW/Gr nanocomposite film on transmission electron microscopy (TEM) grids. AgNW average spacing, optical transmittance, and electrical conductivity are characterized and correlated with different AgNW concentrations. Atomic force microscope (AFM) indentation on the free-stand composite indicates that the AgNW network can increase the composite film stiffness by approximately 460% with the AgNW concentration higher than 0.6 mg/mL. Raman spectroscopy shows the existence of a graphene layer and the disturbance of the AgNW network. The proposed method provides a robust way to synthesize free-stand Gr/AgNW/Gr nanocomposite and the characterization results can be utilized to optimize the nanocomposite design for future applications.
Recommended Citation
C. Guo et al., "Synthesis and Characterization of Free-Stand Graphene/Silver Nanowire/Graphene Nano Composite as Transparent Conductive Film with Enhanced Stiffness," Applied Sciences, vol. 10, no. 14, MDPI, Jul 2020.
The definitive version is available at https://doi.org/10.3390/app10144802
Department(s)
Civil, Architectural and Environmental Engineering
Research Center/Lab(s)
INSPIRE - University Transportation Center
Second Research Center/Lab
Center for High Performance Computing Research
Keywords and Phrases
Graphene; Silver Nanowire; Nano Composite; Synthesis; Characterization
International Standard Serial Number (ISSN)
2076-3417
Document Type
Article - Journal
Document Version
Final Version
File Type
text
Language(s)
English
Rights
© 2020 The Authors, All rights reserved.
Creative Commons Licensing
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
Publication Date
13 Jul 2020
Comments
This research was funded by the U.S. Department of Transportation, Office of the Assistant Secretary for Research and Technology (USDOT/OST-R), grant number 69A3551747126, through the INSPIRE University Transportation Center at Missouri University of Science and Technology.