Seminaire LMGP Maria del Mar RODRIGUEZ ROBLES 13.10.2026

PhD student, Maria del Mar RODRIGUEZ ROBLES

LMGP, Université Grenoble Alpes, CNRS, Grenoble INP, France

SIMaP, Science and Engineering of Materials and Processes

Transparent electrodes based on silver nanowire networks protected by nitrides

Abstract

Silver nanowire (AgNW) networks are promising alternatives to indium tin oxide (ITO) for transparent electrodes, combining excellent optoelectronic performance, mechanical flexibility, and compatibility with scalable fabrication processes¹. However, their practical implementation is hindered by poor adhesion to substrates and degradation under thermal, electrical, mechanical, and environmental stresses. These limitations are related to the high surface-to-volume ratio of AgNWs, which promotes chemical reactivity, surface diffusion, and morphological instability².

This thesis explores transition metal nitrides as protective coatings for AgNW networks³, with the aim of improving their adhesion and long-term stability while preserving their optical and electrical performance. Nitrides such as TiN and AlN are particularly attractive because of their high hardness, chemical inertness, and thermal and mechanical stability. Despite these properties, their use for protecting metallic nanowire networks remains largely unexplored.

Different deposition strategies, including Physical Vapor Deposition (PVD), Plasma-Enhanced Atomic Layer Deposition (PE-ALD), and Area-Selective Deposition using PE-ALD (ASD-PEALD), are investigated to develop controlled nitride coatings on AgNW networks. The thesis examines how the coating characteristics influence the structural, optical, and electrical properties of the electrodes, as well as their stability under electrical, thermal, mechanical, and environmental stresses.

Overall, this work aims to establish the potential of nitride-based protective strategies for overcoming the stability and adhesion limitations of AgNW transparent electrodes. The results provide new insights into the relationship between protective coating design, nanowire stability, and electrode performance, contributing to the development of more durable and reliable transparent electrodes.

1          S. Maurya, L. Labeyrie, K. Zimny, M. D. M. Rodriguez-Robles, B. Zheng, S. Schumacher, D. Muñoz-Rojas, D. Bellet and M. Tréguer-Delapierre, Advances in Physics: X, 2025, 10, 2573818.

2          L. Bardet, D. T. Papanastasiou, C. Crivello, M. Akbari, J. Resende, A. Sekkat, C. Sanchez-Velasquez, L. Rapenne, C. Jiménez, D. Muñoz-Rojas, A. Denneulin and D. Bellet, Nanomaterials, 2021, 11, 2785.

3          D. T. Papanastasiou, A. Mantoux, A. Crisci, H. Ribeiro, A. Sekkat, H. Roussel, M. Weber, L. Rapenne, C. Jiménez, M. Fivel, D. Bellet, E. Blanquet and D. Muñoz-Rojas, ACS Appl. Nano Mater., 2024, 7, 12312–12322.

Short Bio/CV

I am a third-year PhD student at the LMGP and SIMaP labs with a background in nanoscience. As part of the ANR LES MENINES project, my research focuses on the development of protective coatings for metallic nanowires for transparent electrodes applications via physical vapor and atomic layer deposition techniques, with a special interest in nitrides and oxide coatings.