Stretchable Electrodes with Interfacial Percolation Network

Stretchable electrodes are an essential component that determines the functionality and reliability of stretchable electronics, but face the challenge of balancing conductivity and stretchability. This work proposes a new conducting concept called the interfacial percolation network (PN) that results in stretchable electrodes with high conductivity, large stretchability, and high stability. The interfacial PN is composed of a 2D silver nanowires (AgNWs) PN and a protruding 3D AgNWs PN embedded on the surface and in the near-surface region of an elastic polymer matrix, respectively. The protruded PN is obtained by changing the arrangements of AgNWs from horizontal to quasi-vertical through introducing foreign polymer domains in the near-surface region of the polymer matrix. The resulting electrode achieves a conductivity of 13 500 S cm