Electrostatic self-assembly of graphene–silver multilayer films and their transmittance and electronic conductivity Original Research Article

By alternating deposition of graphene oxide (GO) sheets and silver nitrate by means of an electrostatic self-assembly method, a GO–Ag+ film was prepared. After thermal annealing, a graphene–silver nanoparticle (GE–Ag) multilayer film, with high transparency and electrically conductivity, was obtained. The transmittance of a film with four assembly cycles was 86.3%, at a wavelength of 550 nm, better than that of a pure GE film (73.8%). While the surface resistance was 97 kΩ □−1, much lower than that of a pure GE film (430 kΩ □−1). The Ag nanoparticles play a crucial role in improving the properties of the GE–Ag film, acting as conductive paths and light-trapping nanoparticles, which not only reduces the reflection of the film, but also prevents the GE sheets from aggregation and provides conductive paths between sheets, improving the electrical conductivity.