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Enhanced transmittance modulation of ITO/NiO x /ZrO2:H/WO3/ITO electrochromic devices

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Abstract

ZrO2:H thin films were deposited by DC magnetron sputtering at room temperature. The effects of thickness on structure and morphologies of ZrO2:H thin films were lucubrated. The X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy analysis reveals that the fully oxidized value of Zr (Zr4+) exists in both ZrO2 and ZrO2:H films. X-ray diffraction data show the crystallinity of ZrO2:H thin films tends to be weak and the microstructure changes slightly. Atomic force microscopy analysis presents that both the grain size and surface roughness increase as the thickness increases. Correspondingly, all-thin-film ITO/NiO x /ZrO2:H/WO3/ITO electrochromic devices (ECDs) were monolithically fabricated, among which the thickness of ZrO2:H film was adjusted. The ECD assembled with 50 nm ZrO2:H film has the best electrochromic property with transmittance modulation (ΔT) of 65.2 % at 550 nm. The effects of operation potential on ECDs were also elaborated studied. ECDs can get colored in saturated states at relatively high potential as no more unoccupied sites exist in WO3 to accommodate the continuously injected H+ ions.

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Acknowledgments

This work was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (No. 51172013), Beijing Higher Education Young Elite Teacher Project (No. YETP1139), and the Fundamental Research Funds for the Central Universities.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Physics and Nuclear Energy Engineering, Beihang University, Beijing, 100191, People’s Republic of China

    Yuliang Zhou, Xungang Diao, Guobo Dong, Zhonghou Wu, Dongmei Dong & Mei Wang

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  1. Yuliang Zhou
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  2. Xungang Diao
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  3. Guobo Dong
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  4. Zhonghou Wu
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  5. Dongmei Dong
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  6. Mei Wang
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Correspondence to Guobo Dong.

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Zhou, Y., Diao, X., Dong, G. et al. Enhanced transmittance modulation of ITO/NiO x /ZrO2:H/WO3/ITO electrochromic devices. Ionics 22, 25–32 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11581-015-1591-z

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11581-015-1591-z

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