Recently, electrochromic devices (ECDs) have gathered increasing attention owing to their high color contrast and memory effect, which make them highly applicable to smart windows, auto-dimming mirrors, sensors, etc. Traditional ECDs have a sandwich structure that contains an electrochromic layer between two ITO substrates. These sandwich-type devices are usually fabricated through the lamination of two electrodes and followed by the injection of a liquid electrolyte in the inner space. However, this process is sometimes complex and time consuming. In this study, we fabricated ECDs with a lateral electrode structure that uses only an ITO substrate and an all-in-one electrochromic gel, which is a mixture of electrolyte and electrochromic material. Furthermore, we investigated the EC properties of the lateral-type device by comparing it with a sandwich-type device. The lateral-type ECD shows strong blue absorption as the applied voltage increases and has a competitive coloration efficiency compared to the sandwich-type device.

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• Viologens and extended viologen derivatives with mono- and di-hexyl substituents for highly stable all-in-one ECDs and solar cell powered large-area ECDs
  Fangyuan Sun, He Zhang, Cong Wang, Huan Ling, Jiayi Cai, Weilun Peng, Yanhong Tian, Fengyu Su, Yanqing Tian, Yan Jun Liu
  Materials Chemistry and Physics.2023; 301: 127593.     CrossRef

Tungsten trioxide (WO₃) is a promising candidate as a photocatalyst because of its outstanding electrical and optical properties. In this study, we prepare WO₃ thin films by electrodeposition and characterize the photocatalytic degradation of methylene blue using these films. Depending on the voltage conditions (static and pulse), compact and porous WO₃ films are fabricated on a transparent ITO/glass substrate. The morphology and crystal structure of electrodeposited WO₃ thin films are investigated by scanning electron microscopy, atomic force microscopy, and X-ray diffraction. An application of static voltage during electrodeposition yields a compact layer of WO₃, whereas a highly porous morphology with nanoflakes is produced by a pulse voltage process. Compared to the compact film, the porous WO₃ thin film shows better photocatalytic activities. Furthermore, a much higher reaction rate of degradation of methylene blue can be achieved after post-annealing of WO₃ thin films.

In this study, we synthesize tungsten oxide thin films by electrodeposition and characterize their electrochromic properties. Depending on the deposition modes, compact and porous tungsten oxide films are fabricated on a transparent indium tin oxide (ITO) substrate. The morphology and crystal structure of the electrodeposited tungsten oxide thin films are investigated by scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and X-ray diffraction (XRD). X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy is employed to verify the chemical composition and the oxidation state of the films. Compared to the compact tungsten oxides, the porous films show superior electrochemical activities with higher reversibility during electrochemical reactions. Furthermore, they exhibit very high color contrast (97.0%) and switching speed (3.1 and 3.2 s). The outstanding electrochromic performances of the porous tungsten oxide thin films are mainly attributed to the porous structure, which facilitates ion intercalation/deintercalation during electrochemical reactions.

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• A fast-response electrochromic device based on a composite gel film comprising triphenylamine derivatives and WO3
  Xuejian Zhang, Jinming Zeng, Zipeng Xu, Mimi Zhu, Ping Liu
  New Journal of Chemistry.2021; 45(12): 5503.     CrossRef

We demonstrate the electrochromic properties of TiO₂ nanotubes prepared by an anodization process and investigate the effects of heat treatment and viologen incorporation on them. The morphology and crystal structure of anodized TiO₂ nanotubes are investigated by scanning electron microscopy and X-ray diffraction. As-formed TiO₂ nanotubes have straight tubular layers with an amorphous structure. As the annealing temperature increases, the anodized TiO₂ nanotubes are converted to the anatase and rutile phases with some cracks on the tube surface and irregular morphology. Electrochemical results reveal that amorphous TiO₂ nanotubes annealed at 150°C have the largest oxidation/ reduction current, which leads to the best electrochromic performance during the coloring/bleaching process. Viologenanchored TiO₂ nanotubes show superior electrochromic properties compared to pristine TiO₂ nanotubes, which indicates that the incorporation of a viologen can be an effective way to enhance the electrochromic properties of TiO₂ nanotubes.

In this study, we demonstrate the photoelectrochromic devices composed of TiO₂ and WO₃ nanostructures prepared by anodization method. The morphology and the crystal structure of anodized TiO₂ nanotubes and WO₃ nanoporous layers are investigated by SEM and XRD. To fabricate a transparent photoelectrode on FTO substrate, a TiO₂ nanotube membrane, which has been detached from Ti substrate, is transferred to FTO substrate and annealed at 450°C for 1 hr. The photoelectrode of TiO₂ nanotube and the counter electrode of WO₃ nanoporous layer are assembled and the inner space is filled with a liquid electrolyte containing 0.5 M LiI and 5 mM I₂ as a redox mediator. The properties of the photoelectrochromic devices is investigated and Pt-WO₃ electrode system shows better electrochromic performance compared toWO₃ electrode.

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• Synthesis and characterization of nitrogen-doped TiO 2 coatings on reduced graphene oxide for enhancing the visible light photocatalytic activity
  Yifan Zhang, Hye Mee Yang, Soo-Jin Park
  Current Applied Physics.2018; 18(2): 163.     CrossRef
• Photocatalytic and Adsorption Properties of WO3 Nanorods Prepared by Hydrothermal Synthesis
  Su-Yeol Yu, Chunghee Nam
  Journal of Korean Powder Metallurgy Institute.2017; 24(6): 483.     CrossRef
• Synthesis and Photo Catalytic Activity of 10 wt%, 20 wt%Li-TiO2 Composite Powders
  Hyeong-Chul Kim, Jae-Kil Han
  Journal of Korean Powder Metallurgy Institute.2016; 23(1): 33.     CrossRef

Tungsten trioxide thin films are successfully synthesized by a sol-gel method using tungsten hexachloride as precursors. The structural, chemical, and optical properties of the prepared films are characterized by scanning electron microscopy, X-ray diffraction, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, and UV-Vis spectrophotometry. The electrochemical and electrochromic properties of the films before and after heat treatment are also investigated by cyclic voltammetry, chronoamperometry, and in situ transmittance measurement system. Compared to as-prepared films, heattreated tungsten trioxide thin films exhibit a higher electrochemical reversibility of 0.81 and superior coloration efficiency of 65.7 cm²/C, which implies that heat treatment at an appropriate temperature is a crucial process in a sol-gel method for having a better electrochromic performance.