A nanoparticle-mist deposition method: fabrication of high-performance ITO flexible thin films under atmospheric conditions.

Indium tin oxide (ITO) thin films with low resistivity and high transparency in the visible light region have been prepared on flexible plastic films by a deposition method using water mist containing ITO nanoparticles (NPs) under atmospheric conditions. The ITO NP-mist was generated by ultrasonic irradiation of a water dispersion. Our developed protrusion-rich ITO NPs were applied as the ITO NPs. The ITO NPs show high dispersion stability in water without the use of any dispersant. Comparison investigations revealed that utilization of the ITO NPs played a critical role in fabricating high-performance ITO thin films on flexible films, and the resistivity reached 9.0 × 10-3 Ω cm. The system could be expected to provide promising advances in the development of a mild and sustainable fabrication procedure for ITO thin films under mild atmospheric conditions without the use of expensive vacuum production systems or harmful and environmentally undesirable chemicals.