Fig. 1

Formation of Cu nanowires directed by liquid-crystalline structure of the medium[14]"

Table 1

Summary of representitive synthetic methods of Cu nanowires"

Fig. 2

SEM images and diameter distribution of Cu nanowires synthesized by using different halide ions[16] (a, e) 2.6 mmol Cl-; (b,f) 2.0 mmol Cl-; (c,g) 1.6 mmol Cl-; (d,h) 1.6 mmol Br-"

Fig. 3

(A) SEM image of Cu-Ni NWs with inset showing high resolution SEM image of Cu-Ni NWs; (B) Dark field optical microscopy images of Cu-Ni NWs; (C-H) The distribution of Cu and Ni elements of Cu-Ni NWs with different contents of nickel[23]"

Fig. 4

Schematic diagram of the vaccum transfer method (a)[35], the spray-coating method (b)[36], the meyer rod coating method (c)[37], and the roll-to-roll coating method (d)[37]"

Fig. 5

(a-c) Schematic diagram of the experimental setup of a typical plasma treatment process; (d) SEM image of the nanowire junction after plasma treatment; (e) Current-voltage measurement of LED lamps connected by stretchable Cu NW conductors at various strains. Insets are digital photos of the whole setup at 0 and 250% strain[48]"

Fig. 6

Schematic diagram (a) of the preparation procedure of Cu NWs/PA electrode. SEM (b), TEM (c), HRTEM (d) and EELS spetra (e) of the Cu NWs film after TiO2 nanopartical sol treatment. Raman spectra (f) of Cu NWs before post-treating, after H2 plasma treatment and TiO2 nanopartical sol treatment. Plot of the transmittance (at a wavelength of 550 nm) with respect to the sheet resistance (g) for films of Cu NWs with H2 annealing, H2 plasma treatment and TiO2 nanopartical sol treatment. Sheet resistance variation (h) of the commercial ITO/PET and Cu NWs/PA electrodes during the bending test of 104 cycles[53]"

Fig. 7

(a) Time-dependent temperature curves of Cu NW-1000 on PET films at input voltages of 1.5-5 V under ambient conditions; (b) PET/ITO transparent heaters during 104 cycles of bending tests; (c) Infrared photograph and (d) application examples of Cu NW-based stretchable heater[61]"