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Vol. 16 (2024)

Flexible, Transparent and Conductive Metal Mesh Films with Ultra-High FoM for Stretchable Heating and Electromagnetic Interference Shielding

https://doi.org/10.1007/s40820-023-01295-z
Zibo Chen
State Key Laboratory of Optoelectronic Materials and Technologies, School of Electronics and Information Technology, Sun Yat-Sen University, Guangzhou 510275, People’s Republic of China
Shaodian Yang
State Key Laboratory of Optoelectronic Materials and Technologies, School of Electronics and Information Technology, Sun Yat-Sen University, Guangzhou 510275, People’s Republic of China
Junhua Huang
State Key Laboratory of Optoelectronic Materials and Technologies, School of Electronics and Information Technology, Sun Yat-Sen University, Guangzhou 510275, People’s Republic of China
Yifan Gu
State Key Laboratory of Optoelectronic Materials and Technologies, School of Electronics and Information Technology, Sun Yat-Sen University, Guangzhou 510275, People’s Republic of China
Weibo Huang
State Key Laboratory of Optoelectronic Materials and Technologies, School of Electronics and Information Technology, Sun Yat-Sen University, Guangzhou 510275, People’s Republic of China
Shaoyong Liu
State Key Laboratory of Optoelectronic Materials and Technologies, School of Electronics and Information Technology, Sun Yat-Sen University, Guangzhou 510275, People’s Republic of China
Zhiqiang Lin
Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Materials for High Density Electronic Packing, Shenzhen Institutes of Advanced Technology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shenzhen 518055, Guangdong, People’s Republic of China
Zhiping Zeng
School of Materials Science and Engineering, Sun Yat-Sen University, Guangzhou 510275, People’s Republic of China
Yougen Hu
Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Materials for High Density Electronic Packing, Shenzhen Institutes of Advanced Technology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shenzhen 518055, Guangdong, People’s Republic of China
Zimin Chen
State Key Laboratory of Optoelectronic Materials and Technologies, School of Electronics and Information Technology, Sun Yat-Sen University, Guangzhou 510275, People’s Republic of China
Boru Yang
State Key Laboratory of Optoelectronic Materials and Technologies, School of Electronics and Information Technology, Sun Yat-Sen University, Guangzhou 510275, People’s Republic of China
Xuchun Gui
State Key Laboratory of Optoelectronic Materials and Technologies, School of Electronics and Information Technology, Sun Yat-Sen University, Guangzhou 510275, People’s Republic of China

Corresponding Author: Xuchun Gui

guixch@mail.sysu.edu.cn

Nano-Micro Letters, Vol. 16 (2024), Article Number: 92

Abstract

Despite the growing demand for transparent conductive films in smart and wearable electronics for electromagnetic interference (EMI) shielding, achieving a flexible EMI shielding film, while maintaining a high transmittance remains a significant challenge. Herein, a flexible, transparent, and conductive copper (Cu) metal mesh film for EMI shielding is fabricated by self-forming crackle template method and electroplating technique. The Cu mesh film shows an ultra-low sheet resistance (0.18 Ω □−1), high transmittance (85.8%@550 nm), and ultra-high figure of merit (> 13,000). It also has satisfactory stretchability and mechanical stability, with a resistance increases of only 1.3% after 1,000 bending cycles. As a stretchable heater (ε > 30%), the saturation temperature of the film can reach over 110 °C within 60 s at 1.00 V applied voltage. Moreover, the metal mesh film exhibits outstanding average EMI shielding effectiveness of 40.4 dB in the X-band at the thickness of 2.5 μm. As a demonstration, it is used as a transparent window for shielding the wireless communication electromagnetic waves. Therefore, the flexible and transparent conductive Cu mesh film proposed in this work provides a promising candidate for the next-generation EMI shielding applications.


Highlights:
1 A transparent, conductive, and flexible metal mesh film has been developed by a low-cost, uniform self-forming crackle template and electroplating strategy.
2 The Cu mesh films show an ultra-low sheet resistance (0.18 Ω □−1), high transmittance (85.8%@550 nm), high figure of merit (> 13,000), excellent stretchability and mechanical stability.
3 The metal mesh film can be used as a flexible heater and electromagnetic interference shielding film (40.4 dB at 2.5 μm).

Keywords

Metal mesh Transparent conductive film Stretchable heater Electromagnetic interference shielding
Chen, Zibo, Shaodian Yang, Junhua Huang, Yifan Gu, Weibo Huang, Shaoyong Liu, Zhiqiang Lin, Zhiping Zeng, Yougen Hu, Zimin Chen, Boru Yang, and Xuchun Gui. 2024. “Flexible, Transparent and Conductive Metal Mesh Films With Ultra-High FoM for Stretchable Heating and Electromagnetic Interference Shielding”. Nano-Micro Letters 16 (January):92. https://doi.org/10.1007/s40820-023-01295-z.
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