Nanowires for Flexible Electronics

Since the discovery of the one-dimensional (1-D) nanostructure with the cylindrical shape named “nanowires” (NWs), research works have moved from the realm of scientific curiosity to the application of these NWs for the manufacture of flexible electronic devices. In this chapter, we report in detail the recent progress of the NWs for flexible electronics. In the first part, the interesting physical properties of metallic, inorganic semiconductors, perovskite, and organic NWs making them promising materials for a wide variety of applications are introduced. Then, a brief description of flexible metallic, inorganic semiconductors, and polymer substrates is presented. The last part of this chapter reports a comprehensive and updated review of the NW-based flexible electronics, including transistors, touch screens, chemical and pressure sensors, piezoelectric nanogenerators, photovoltaic cells, and energy storage devices. These applications show the great promising perspective of the NWs not only in the enhancement of the performance of flexible electronic devices but also in contributing to their commercialization.