Polymer-Nanowire Hybrid Composites Based on PEDOT: PSS and AgNWs for High-Performance Conductive Films in Flexible Devices

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nThis is an unedited manuscript accepted for publication and provided as an Article in Press for early access at the author’s request. The article will undergo copyediting, typesetting, and galley proof review before final publication. Please be aware that errors may be identified during production that could affect the content. All legal disclaimers of the journal apply.n

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Year : 2025 [if 2224 equals=””]02/09/2025 at 11:46 AM[/if 2224] | [if 1553 equals=””] Volume : 13 [else] Volume : 13[/if 1553] | [if 424 equals=”Regular Issue”]Issue : [/if 424][if 424 equals=”Special Issue”]Special Issue[/if 424] [if 424 equals=”Conference”][/if 424] 05 | Page : 236 250

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    R. Muthukumar, S. M. Prakash, Nantha Kumar P, Dinesh V, Radhey Shyam Meena, Sivakumar, Radhika G Deshmukh, V G Pratheep, Zakir Hussain,

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  1. Professor, Assistant Professor, Associate Professor, Assistant Professor, Industry Co-ordinator, Professor, Assistant Professor, Associate Professor, Assistant Professor, Department of Electrical and Electronics Engineering, Erode Sengunthar Engineering College, Erode, Department of Chemistry, St Joseph’s College of Engineering, OMR, Chennai, Department of Mechanical Engineering, Sri Sairam Engineering College, Chennai, Department of Chemical Engineering, Vel Tech High Tech Dr. Rangarajan, Dr. Sakunthala Engineering College, Chennai, Office of Digital Learning, IIT Kanpur, Department of Chemistry, Varuvan Vadivelan Institute of Technology, Dharmapuri, Department of Physics, Shri Shivaji Science College, Amravati, Department of Electrical and Electronics Engineering, Velalar College of Engineering and Technology, Erode, Department of Chemical Technology, Loyola Academy, Secunderabad, Tamil Nadu, Tamil Nadu, Tamil Nadu, Tamil Nadu, Uttar Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Maharshtra, Tamil Nadu, Telangana, India, India, India, India, India, India, India, India, India

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Abstract

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nThe growing demand for flexible photovoltaic and wearable optoelectronic devices has intensified research into polymer-based conductive composites that provide transparency, flexibility, and electrical efficiency. In this work, we report the fabrication and characterization of a hybrid polymer nanocomposite electrode comprising silver nanowires (AgNWs) embedded within a PEDOT:PSS matrix, deposited on flexible polyethylene terephthalate (PET) substrates. The PEDOT:PSS polymer phase, modified with 5 vol% dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO) and 0.1 vol% Zonyl fluorosurfactant, plays a dual role—acting as a conductive layer and a composite matrix that binds, encapsulates, and protects the AgNWs.The synthesized AgNWs had diameters of ~45 nm and lengths of 10–15 µm, achieving an aspect ratio >200. The resulting AgNW/PEDOT:PSS composite exhibited a high optical transmittance (>88%) across the visible spectrum, with an average transmittance of 85.6% at 550 nm. Electrical analysis showed a significant reduction in sheet resistance from 24.3 Ω/□ (bare AgNW film) to 21.2 Ω/□ for the composite, yielding a figure of merit (FoM) of 265 × 10⁻³ Ω⁻¹—exceeding conventional ITO benchmarks.Mechanical testing under 1000 bending cycles (radius: 2 mm) resulted in only a 6.4% increase in resistance, highlighting excellent flexibility and structural cohesion. Furthermore, the composite demonstrated superior thermal stability, with only an 8% increase in resistance after 100 hours of aging at 85°C and 85% relative humidity, compared to a 30% rise for uncoated AgNW films. These results validate AgNW/PEDOT:PSS nanocomposites as high-performance, scalable alternatives to ITO for flexible electronic applicationsnn

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Keywords: PEDOT:PSS, Flexible photovoltaics, thermal stability, polymer nanocomposites, conductive polymer composites.

n[if 424 equals=”Regular Issue”][This article belongs to Journal of Polymer and Composites ]

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[/if 424][if 424 equals=”Special Issue”][This article belongs to Special Issue under section in Journal of Polymer and Composites (jopc)][/if 424][if 424 equals=”Conference”]This article belongs to Conference [/if 424]

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How to cite this article:
nR. Muthukumar, S. M. Prakash, Nantha Kumar P, Dinesh V, Radhey Shyam Meena, Sivakumar, Radhika G Deshmukh, V G Pratheep, Zakir Hussain. [if 2584 equals=”][226 wpautop=0 striphtml=1][else]Polymer-Nanowire Hybrid Composites Based on PEDOT: PSS and AgNWs for High-Performance Conductive Films in Flexible Devices[/if 2584]. Journal of Polymer and Composites. 23/08/2025; 13(05):236-250.

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How to cite this URL:
nR. Muthukumar, S. M. Prakash, Nantha Kumar P, Dinesh V, Radhey Shyam Meena, Sivakumar, Radhika G Deshmukh, V G Pratheep, Zakir Hussain. [if 2584 equals=”][226 striphtml=1][else]Polymer-Nanowire Hybrid Composites Based on PEDOT: PSS and AgNWs for High-Performance Conductive Films in Flexible Devices[/if 2584]. Journal of Polymer and Composites. 23/08/2025; 13(05):236-250. Available from: https://journals.stmjournals.com/jopc/article=23/08/2025/view=0

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[if 424 not_equal=””]Regular Issue[else]Published[/if 424] Subscription Original Research

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Journal of Polymer and Composites

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[if 344 not_equal=””]ISSN: 2321–2810[/if 344]

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Volume 13
[if 424 equals=”Regular Issue”]Issue[/if 424][if 424 equals=”Special Issue”]Special Issue[/if 424] [if 424 equals=”Conference”][/if 424] 05
Received 04/08/2025
Accepted 13/08/2025
Published 23/08/2025
Retracted
Publication Time 19 Days

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