Effect of AlOx protection layer on AgNWs for flexible transparent heater.

We indicated high performance and stability transparent heaters based on AlOx covered Ag nanowires. We obtained an AlOx covered Ag nanowire thin film which has a 47 ohm/sq of sheet resistance and 88.1% (substrate included) of transmittance at 600 nm on a flexible substrate. We demonstrate that the thin AlOx layer leads to increased contact area at the junction of Ag nanowires, which contributes to lower sheet resistance and improved adhesion of Ag nanowires. Furthermore, high stability and flexibility of Ag nanowire have been achieved by the AlOx layer. Finally, we fabricated a flexible transparent heater with AlOx covered Ag nanowire, and obtained a temperature of 81 °C within 40 sec at the driven voltage of 7 V with fast response and uniform temperature distribution. Therefore, the AlOx covered Ag nanowire film is a promising candidate for the application of the flexible transparent heaters.