(274b) Graph Theoretic Modeling of Charge Transport through Films of Percolating Nanowires

Films from percolating nanowires may provide a hard-to-obtain combination of surface conductivity, mechanical robustness, transparency, and low density. The macroscale behavior of these films depends heavily on the connectivity and alignment of the nanowires. To describe this behavior, we develop a graph theoretic model to predict electrical properties of self-assembled percolating networks. We show how the model reproduces axially selective charge transport and confirm the selectivity is due to alignment of the constituent silver nanowires. We show that the model can detect anisotropy before experimental measurements such as light scattering. Unexpectedly we find that even films with minor degrees of anisotropy exhibit large fluctuations in conductivity (>50%), as a function of film orientation. Finally, we model charge transport through multilayer films and show how intralayer connections enable supralinear increases in conductivity, as a function of number of layers. By modeling each of these variables, we expect our approach will accelerate the design of conductive lightweight films.