Flexible Transparent and Free-Standing SiC Nanowires Fabric: Stretchable UV Absorber and Fast-Response UV-A Detector.

Transparent and flexible materials are desired for the construction of photoelectric multifunctional integrated devices and portable electronics. Herein, 2H-SiC nanowires are assembled into a flexible, transparent, self-standing nanowire fabric (FTS-NWsF). The as-synthesized ultralong nanowires form high-quality crystals with a few stacking faults. The optical transmission spectra reveal that FTS-NWsF absorbs most incident 200-400 nm light, but remains transparent to visible light. A polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS)-SiC fabric-PDMS sandwich film device exhibits stable electrical output even when repeatedly stretched by up to 50%. Unlike previous SiC nanowires in which stacking faults are prevalent, the transparent, stretchable SiC fabric shows considerable photoelectric activity and exhibits a rapid photoresponse (rise and decay time < 30 ms) to 340-400 nm light, covering most of the UV-A spectral region. These advances represent significant progress in the design of functional optoelectronic SiC nanowires and transparent and stretchable optoelectronic systems.