• Journal of Korean Vacuum Science & Technology
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• v.2 no.2
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• pp.85-91
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• 1998

The electrochromic behaviors of de-magnetron sputtered tungsten oxide thin films were investigated during coloration and bleach cycles using in situ real-time spectroscopic ellipsometry. Effective medium approximation and least-squares regression analyses were employed to investigate the electrochromic process. The optical properties of the tungsten oxide film were analyzed using the oscillator model and the evolution of the process using a reaction-limited model. In these analyses, we found that two different reaction rates were associated with the process. We ascribe this behavior to the microstructure of this films.

• Membrane Journal
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• v.20 no.1
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• pp.8-12
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• 2010

Poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene) (PEDOT), which has the highest stability in conducting polymer was employed to electrochromic (EC) film and studied about electrochromic properties according to the film fabrication method. PEDOT films were coated by two different methods, electropolymerization (EP) and vapor phase polymerization (VPP). Both of PEDOT films showed dark blue color at dedoped neutral state. Spectroelectrochemistry, switching ability and stability of the devices were investigated by UV-Vis Spectrophotometer and Cyclic voltammetry. Surface morphologies of the PEDOT VPP film at oxidized and reduced state were obtained by AFM. The average surface roughness of the PEDOT-VPP film was 50 nm and more homogeneous than that of the PEDOT-EP. The EC property from the PEDOT-VPP film was improved compared to that of the PEDOT-EP film, to show a response time of 1.5 sec, transmittancechange of 49%, and coloration efficiency of 402.

• Korean Chemical Engineering Research
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• v.49 no.4
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• pp.405-410
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• 2011

A study on chemical vapor deposition(CVD) of $WO_3$ and the electrochromic properties of the CVD $WO_3$ films have been carried out. The crystalinity, purity, and growth rate of the films depending on substrate temperatures are investigated. The highest growth rate is $8{\mu}m/min$ at the substrate temperatures above $300^{\circ}C$ and the estimated activation energy for overall film growth is about 45.9 kJ/mol at the temperatures of $225{\sim}275^{\circ}C$, where the CVD process is controlled by a surface reaction kinetics. The films grown below $275^{\circ}C$ are amorphous, while those deposited above $300^{\circ}C$ are crystalline. The effects of thickness and deposition temperature of the $WO_3$ films on electrochromic activity are also investigated. The coloration efficiency of the films increases with increase in film thickness and decrease in deposition temperature.

• Electrical & Electronic Materials
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• v.9 no.7
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• pp.690-695
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• 1996

We have systematically investigated the characterization of V$_{2}$O$_{5}$ thin films as a counter electrode for lithium based complementary electrochromic devices. The V$_{2}$O$_{5}$ thin films were prepared by thermal vacuum evaporation with varing the substrate temperature and film thickness. In electrochromic devices for smart windows, the WO$_{3}$ thin films with 400-800 nm thickness require to be capable of reversibly injection 10-15 mC/cm$^{2}$ of lithium, which is readily accomplished charge-balanced switching in a V$_{2}$O$_{5}$ thin films with 100-150nm thick. The V$_{2}$O$_{5}$ thin films produces considerably small changes in optical modulation properties in the visible and near infrared region(500-1100 nm) compared to the amorphous WO$_{3}$ thin films on 10-15 mC/cm$^{2}$ of lithium injection and the V$_{2}$O$_{5}$ thin films can therefore act as a counter electrode to WO$_{3}$ in a lithium based complementary clectrochromic devices. After 10$^{5}$ coloration/bleaching switching time, the degradation does not occurs and the devices exhibit a stable optical modulation in V$_{2}$O$_{5}$ thin films. It has shown that the injected lithium ion amounts in crystalline V$_{2}$O$_{5}$ thin films with the same thickness is large by 3-5 mC/cm$^{2}$ of lithium compared to the amorphous thin films in the same driving conditions. Therefore, to optimize the device performance, it is necessary to choose an appropriate film thickness and crystallinity of V$_{2}$O$_{5}$ for amorphous WO$_{3}$ film thickness as a working electrode.

• Membrane Journal
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• v.31 no.5
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• pp.333-342
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• 2021

A flexible electrochromic device (ECD) is a promising technology that is expected to be applied in various fields such as smart windows. Polymer electrolyte is an important component that determines the bleaching-coloration performance and physical stability of flexible ECDs. In this study, a pore-filled polymer electrolyte membrane (PFPEM) with excellent dimensional stability was developed to effectively fabricate flexible ECDs and improve durability. Polyvinyl acetate, which has excellent adhesion, and polyethylene glycol, which can improve ionic conductivity, were filled in the pores of a porous substrate made of polyethylene, which is inexpensive and has excellent physical and chemical stability. The optimal lithium salt (LiTFSI) content of the prepared PFPEM was determined at about 27 wt%, and it was confirmed to possess excellent dimensional stability, adhesive strength, and ion conductivity close to that of conventional polymer electrolytes. Although the visible light transmittance was lowered by the use of the porous substrate, it was expected to act as an advantage in the colored state.

• Korean Journal of Materials Research
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• v.31 no.3
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• pp.132-138
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• 2021

Electrochromic devices (ECDs) have been drawing great attention due to their high color contrast, low power consumption, and memory effect, and can be used in smart windows, automatic dimming mirrors, and information display devices. As with other electronic devices such as LEDs (light emitting diodes), solar cells, and transistors, the mechanical flexibility of ECDs is one of the most important issue for their potential applications. In this paper, we report on flexible ECDs (f-ECDs) fabricated using an all-in-one EC gel, which is a mixture of electrolyte and EC material. The f-ECDs are compared with rigid ECDs (r-ECDs) on ITO glass substrate in terms of color contrast, coloration efficiency, and switching speed. It is confirmed that the f-ECDs embedding all-in-one gel show strong blue absorption and have competitive EC performance. Repetitive bending tests show a degradation of electrochromic performance, which must be improved using an optimized device fabrication process.

• Journal of the Korean Crystal Growth and Crystal Technology
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• v.34 no.1
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• pp.16-21
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• 2024

Using electrochromic devices (ECD), smart window films that can change the colors from tinted state into transparent state by applying an external voltage were manufactured. Polyethylene terephthalate (PET) film was used as a substrate instead of conventional glass, and ECD modules having a total thickness of about 50 ㎛ were manufactured by sequentially introducing an ITO/Ag/ITO electrode layer, a WO3/TIC2 organic discoloration layer, and a Nafion fluorine electrolyte layer. Through a series of sputtering, bar coating, and thermal compression processes, a large scale smart window with a horizontal and vertical length of more than 80 mm was manufactured. When DC 3.5 V was applied, the transmittance decreased from 54 % to 24 % and moreover the color change could be confirmed even with the naked eye. Reversible color change capability at low external voltage implies that external sunlight can be selectively blocked which is effective in terms of energy saving.

• Macromolecular Research
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• v.17 no.10
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• pp.791-796
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• 2009

An electrochemically and photochemically polymerizable monomer, 2-((2,3-dihydrothieno[3,4-b] [1,4]dioxin-2-yl)methoxy)ethyl methacrylate (EDOT-EMA), was explored for patterning of poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene) (PEDOT) via side chain cross-linking. The polymer from EDOT-EMA was deposited electrochemically to produce polymeric EDOT (PEDOT-EMA), which was directly photo-patterned by UV light as the side EMA groups of PEDOT-EMA were polymerized to give cross-linked EMA (PEDOT-PEMA). Absorption and FTIR studies of the UV-exposed film (PEDOT-PEMA) indicated that the photo-patterning mainly originated from the photo cross-linking of the methacrylates in the side-chain. After irradiation of the film, the conductivity of the irradiated area decreased from $5.6{\times}10^{-3}$ S/cm to $7.2{\times}10^{-4}$ S/cm, possibly due to bending of the conductive PEDOT channel as a result of the side chain cross-linking. The patterned film was applied to a solid state electrochromic (EC) cell to obtain micro-patterned EC cells with lines up to 5 ${\mu}m$ wide.

• Korean Journal of Materials Research
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• v.19 no.10
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• pp.527-532
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• 2009

The electrochromic properties of Au nanoparticles (NPs) incorporating poly (3, 4-ethylenedioxythiphene) (PEDOT) film were investigated. Trisodium citrate was used for stabilizing Au NPs to control the size. The capping molecules of the Au nanoparticles were exchanged from citrate to 2-mercaptoethanol (2-ME). Water was removed by centrifuge and Au NPs were redispersed in methanol (MeOH). Finally, we obtained ca. 11.7 nm diameter of Au NPs. The effects of 0.15 at% of Au NPs incorporation on the optical, electrical, and eletrochromic properties of PEDOT films were investigated. The electrical property and switching speed of Au/PEDOT film was slightly improved over that of PEDOT film because Au NPs play a hopping site role and affect packing density of the PEDOT chain. Through the ultra violet-visible spectra of PEDOT and Au/PEDOT films at -0.7 V (vs Ag/AgCl), blue shift of maximum absorption peak was observed from PEDOT (585.4 nm) to Au/PEDOT (572.2 nm) due to a shortening of conjugated length of PEDOT. The Au NPs interfered with the degree of conjugation and the maximum absorption peak was shifted to shorter wavelength.

• Membrane Journal
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• v.30 no.5
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• pp.333-341
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• 2020

In this study, the optimum design conditions of a polymer electrolyte membrane for application to a flexible electrochromic device (ECD) were tried to be derived. Polyvinyl butyral (PVB) with excellent adhesive property and transparency was selected as the base polymer for the preparation of the electrolyte membrane, and adipate-based polymer was used as the plasticizer. As a result, it was confirmed that the most influential factors on the ECD performance were the ionic conductivity and permeability of the electrolyte membrane. In addition, it was found that the factor has a close relationship with the dissociation property of the lithium salt. Overall, the optimal ECD performance was achieved when LiTFSI salt having a large anion size among various lithium salts was dissolved in a content of about 25 wt.%.