Self-patterned stretchable electrode based on silver nanowire bundle mesh developed by liquid bridge evaporation

A new strategy is required to realize a low-cost stretchable electrode while realizing high stretchability, conductivity, and manufacturability. In this study, we fabricated a self-patterned stretchable electrode using a simple and scalable process. The stretchable electrode is composed of a bridged square-shaped (BSS) AgNW bundle mesh developed by liquid bridge evaporation and a stretchable polymer matrix patterned with a microcavity array. Owing to the BSS structure and microcavity array, which effectively concentrate the applied strain on the deformable square region of the BSS structure under tensile stretching, the stretchable electrode exhibits high stretchability with a low ∆R/R₀ of 10.3 at a strain of 40%. Furthermore, by exploiting the self-patterning ability— attributable to the difference in the ability to form liquid bridges according to the distance between microstructures—we successfully demonstrated a stretchable AgNW bundle mesh with complex patterns without using additional patterning processes. In particular, stretchable electrodes were fabricated by spray coating and bar coating, which are widely used in industry for low-cost mass production. We believe that this study significantly contributes to the commercialization of stretchable electronics while achieving high performance and complex patterns, such as stretchable displays and electronic skin.