Centrifugal Spinning Enables the Formation of Silver Microfibers with Nanostructures
Xujing Zhang,
Songsong Tang,
Zhaokun Wu,
Ye Chen,
Zhen Li,
Zongqian Wang,
Jian Zhou
Affiliations
Xujing Zhang
Key Laboratory for Polymeric Composite & Functional Materials of Ministry of Education, Guangzhou Key Laboratory of Flexible Electronic Materials and Wearable Devices, State Key Laboratory for Optoelectronic Materials and Technologies, School of Material Science and Engineering, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou 510275, China
Songsong Tang
Key Laboratory for Polymeric Composite & Functional Materials of Ministry of Education, Guangzhou Key Laboratory of Flexible Electronic Materials and Wearable Devices, State Key Laboratory for Optoelectronic Materials and Technologies, School of Material Science and Engineering, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou 510275, China
Zhaokun Wu
Key Laboratory for Polymeric Composite & Functional Materials of Ministry of Education, Guangzhou Key Laboratory of Flexible Electronic Materials and Wearable Devices, State Key Laboratory for Optoelectronic Materials and Technologies, School of Material Science and Engineering, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou 510275, China
Ye Chen
State Key Laboratory for Modification of Chemical Fibers and Polymer Materials, Donghua University, Shanghai 200051, China
Zhen Li
Foshan City Zhongrou Material Technology Co., Ltd., Foshan 528225, China
Zongqian Wang
School of Textiles and Garment, Anhui Polytechnic University, Wuhu 241000, China
Jian Zhou
Key Laboratory for Polymeric Composite & Functional Materials of Ministry of Education, Guangzhou Key Laboratory of Flexible Electronic Materials and Wearable Devices, State Key Laboratory for Optoelectronic Materials and Technologies, School of Material Science and Engineering, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou 510275, China
Silver nanowires (AgNWs) have received much attention and application in transparent electrodes, wearable electronic devices, and sensors. The hope is for these nanowires to eventually replace the most commonly used transparent electrode material—indium tin oxide (ITO). However, electrospinning used for the preparation of AgNWs on a large scale is limited by its low productivity and high electric field, while the alcohol-thermal method is limited to mixing by-product silver nanoparticles in silver nanowires. We demonstrate a novel and simple centrifugal spinning approach in order to successfully fabricate ultra-long silver microfibers based on AgNO3 and polyvinyl pyrrolidone (PVP). The centrifugal-spun precursor fiber and silver fiber can be prepared to as thin as 390 and 310 nm, respectively. Annealed fibers show typical nanostructures with grains down to a minimum size of 51 nm. Combinations of different parameters, including concentrations of PVP, needle size, and annealing temperature are also investigated, in order to optimize the spinning process of ultra-long silver microfibers. The feasibility of preparing silver microfibers by centrifugal spinning is preliminarily verified, examining prospects for mass production. Furthermore, numerous strategies related to assisting the creation of silver nanofibers using centrifugal spinning are presented as possibilities in future development.
