The Study of Electrical Resistance of Silver Nanowires in Isopropanol for Heater Application

Abstract

Abstract Silver nanowire is one of the most attractive materials for making devices. In this work, we are interested in using silver nanowires for heater application. To get a good heater, the electrical resistance of the device should be low in order to generate a high temperature. The media to disperse nanowires is also important and helps inter-connection between nanowires. Hence, we study the different amounts of isopropanol (IPA) in water as the media to disperse silver nanowires. The nanowire solutions were prepared under different percentages of isopropanol varying from 0% to 100%. Optical images showed the dispersity of nanowires after the media evaporated. The electrical resistances of spun silver nanowires on glass slides were conducted. The results show that the electrical resistance of nanowires in different amounts of IPA was separated into 2 groups. First, from 0% to 50% of IPA, the electrical resistances were lower than 15 Ohms. Second, for 75% to 100% of IPA, the electrical resistances show more than 85 Ohms. After heater testing of the first group, the temperature is stable and repeatable with a certain applied voltage and current.