Abstract
Microwire networks composed of noble metal particles are promising for the use of transparent conductive films. Bottom-up approaches can offer a route to establish a fabrication technique that is robust and cost-effective. Among several methods, template-assisted self-assembly techniques are widely used. However, they require additional processes to prepare templates and generally suffer from the difficulty in a large-scale fabrication. A template-free technique thus waits to be developed.
In the present study, we explore a template free technique to fabricate colloidal networks of Au nanoparticles. We combine the convective self-assembly method with a liquid-level manipulation scheme in which the suspension is periodically pumped out. By using the technique, we successfully fabricate stripe, grid, and triangle patterns with controlled periodicity and examine the relation between operation parameters and the resultant structures. We then measure the transparency and conductivity of a grid pattern to demonstrate the property as the transparent conductive film.
