This paper presents a novel method to create subwavelength-scale (<250 nm) AgCl nanostructures on flexible plastic film, crucial for highly efficient flexible displays. By using Cl2 plasma treatment on Ag-coated plastic film, AgCl nanostructures were formed through the reaction of Ag atoms with Cl radicals. This reaction expands the volume of AgCl, transforming the surface morphology from a 2D flat Ag surface to a 3D subwavelength-scale AgCl nanostructure. The optical properties of AgCl on plastic film improved significantly, with transmittance increasing from 89.6% to 93.4% and maintaining average haze below 0.3%. Consequently, OLEDs based on these nanostructures exhibited enhanced luminance efficiency (88.6 cd A−1 at 1000 cd m−2), a 10.7% improvement over the original PI film (80.0 cd A−1). The nanostructures also enhance the transmission of electromagnetic waves and reduce their scattering, as confirmed by finite-difference time-domain simulation and rigorous coupled wave analysis. – Journal cover design by scapiens

https://pubs.rsc.org/en/content/articlelanding/2018/nr/c8nr00998h#!divAbstract