Fig. 1

Fabrication and transfer of the highly flexible gold nanomesh electrode. a Schematic showing the different steps of the approach used to fabricate the gold nanomesh electrode. Au-Cu ultra-thin film is first deposited by magnetron co-sputtering on a glass substrate. The alloy is then exposed to nitric acid vapors before transfer to a target flexible substrate (e.g., PET). b Photographs showing the evolution of the Au-Cu film as a function of exposure time to nitric acidic vapors. c Optical microscope images of micropatches constituted of gold nanomesh on a glass substrate for a sample with 23 at.% of gold and 10 nm at initial state before transfer. d Photograph showing a gold nanomesh floating on the surface of distilled water and ready for the transfer onto a flexible substrate. e Photograph of a gold nanomesh on a PET substrate. f Top-view false-colors SEM image of a gold nanomesh prepared using Au-Cu film with an initial Au content of 17 at.% and a thickness of 10 nm. g Optical microscope images of a gold nanomesh on a glass substrate for a sample with 23 at.% of gold and 10 nm at initial state after transfer. White scale bar: 200 nm. Black scale bar: 100 µm