Haze factor of silver nanowires in variable refractive index environment: experimental and simulation approaches.

While silver nanowires (Ag NWs) have been demonstrated as a highly efficient transparent
conducting material, they suffer from strong light scattering, which is quantified by a large
haze factor (HF) in the optical spectrum. Here we investigate the influence of the dielectric
environment on the light scattering of Ag NWs by comparing experimental measurements and
simulations. In air, two peaks on the HF spectra are observed experimentally at the wavelength
of λI = 350 nm and λII = 380 nm and are attributed by simulations to the influence of the Ag
NWs pentagonal shape on the localized surface plasmon resonance. The relative intensity
between the two peaks is found to be dependent on whether the Ag NWs are in contact with
the glass substrate or not. The HF behaviour in the near IR region seems to be dominated by
Rayleigh scattering following simulations results. Dielectric environments of Ag NWs with
various refractive indexes were obtained experimentally by the conformal deposition of
different metal oxide coatings using atomic layer deposition, including Al-doped ZnO, Al2O3
and SiO2 coatings. The HF is found to be correlated with the refractive index environment in
terms of HF peaks position, intensity and broadening. This trend of HF peaks is supported by
a theoretical model to understand the optical mechanism behind this phenomenon.