The film – said by the team to be ‘a mat of tangled nanofibre, electroplated to form a self junctioned copper nano chicken wire’ – is bendable and stretchable, with potential applications in rollable touchscreens, wearable electronics, flexible solar cells and electronic skin.
According to the researchers, the film establishes a ‘world record combination of high transparency and low electrical resistance’. Professor Sam Yoon from the Korea University claimed the latter parameter was ‘at least ten times greater than the previous existing record’.
“It's important, but difficult, to make materials that are both transparent and conductive," said Professor Alexander Yarin from UIC, who added the film retains its properties after repeated cycles of severe stretching or bending, noting this as an important property for touchscreens or wearables. A further application for the material may be as a nano textured surface that increases cooling efficiency.
According to Prof Yarin, most of the materia is holes, which makes it 92% transparent. “You don’t see it,” he contended.
