Layer-by-Layer Assembled Nanowire Networks Enable Graph Theoretical Design of Multifunctional Coatings

TL;DR

This paper introduces a graph theoretical approach to design multifunctional nanowire-based coatings created via layer-by-layer assembly, enabling scalable manufacturing with tailored electrical and optical properties.

Contribution

It develops and validates a graph theoretical model for LBL nanowire composites, linking structure to multifunctional properties and facilitating scalable design.

Findings

GT accurately models multilayer nanowire structures.

GT enables rapid assessment of electrical and optical properties.

Scalable spray-assisted LBL translates design to manufacturing.

Abstract

Multifunctional coatings are central for information, biomedical, transportation and energy technologies. These coatings must possess hard-to-attain properties and be scalable, adaptable, and sustainable, which makes layer-by-layer assembly (LBL) of nanomaterials uniquely suitable for these technologies. What remains largely unexplored is that LBL enables computational methodologies for structural design of these composites. Utilizing silver nanowires (NWs), we develop and validate a graph theoretical (GT) description of their LBL composites. GT successfully describes the multilayer structure with nonrandom disorder and enables simultaneous rapid assessment of several properties of electrical conductivity, electromagnetic transparency, and anisotropy. GT models for property assessment can be rapidly validated due to (1) quasi-2D confinement of NWs and (2) accurate microscopy data for stochastic organization of the NW networks. We finally show that spray-assisted LBL offers direct translation of the GT-based design of composite coatings to additive, scalable manufacturing of drone wings with straightforward extensions to other technologies.