Applied IrO2 Buffer Layer as a Great Promoter on Ti-Doping V2O5 Electrode to Enhance Electrochromic Device Properties

Abstract

Electrochromic devices (ECDs) are a promising material for smart windows that are capable of transmittance variation. However, ECDs are still too expensive to achieve a wide market reach. Reducing fabrication cost remains a challenge. In this study, we inserted an IrO2 buffer layer on Ti-doped V2O5 (Ti:V2O5) as a counter electrode using various Ar/O2 gas flow ratios (1/2, 1/2.5, 1/3 and 1/3.5) in the fabrication process. The buffered-ECD resulted in a larger cyclic voltammetry (CV) area and the best surface average roughness (Ra = 3.91 nm) to promote electrochromic performance. It was fabricated using the low-cost, fast deposition process of vacuum cathodic arc plasma (CAP). This study investigates the influence of the IrO2 buffer/Ti:V2O5 electrode on ECD electrochemical and optical properties, in terms of color efficiency (CE) and cycle durability. The buffered ECD (glass/ITO/WO3/liquid electrolyte/IrO2 buffer/Ti:V2O5/ITO/glass) demonstrated excellent optical transmittance modulation; ∆T = 57% (from Tbleaching (67%) to Tcoloring (10%)) at 633 nm, which was higher than without the buffer (ITO/WO3/liquid electrolyte/Ti:V2O5/ITO) (∆T = 36%). In addition, by means of an IrO2 buffer, the ECD exhibited high coloration efficiency of 96.1 cm2/mC and good durability, which decayed by only 2% after 1000 cycles.

New Anodic Discoloration Materials Applying Energy-Storage Electrochromic Device

“…These harmful macro-particles are the main factor underlying why the CAP technique is not suitable for industrial applications. Therefore, they have amended a way that made use of the Thornton deposition [19][20][21]31,32] to reduce the macro-particle size and adjust the process parameters for high work pressure to improve the quality.…”

“…The primary drawbacks of the NiO-ECD are its low contrast in optical transmittance and limited lifespan [29,30]. The IrO2 film has been proposed as an anodic electrode in ECDs, as it facilitates reversible oxidation and reduction reactions, enabling Li ions to enter and exit the interface between the electrodes and the electrolyte [29,31,32]. In general, electrode films for ECDs consist of an anode and a cathode that can be manufactured using various methods, such as sputtering [33][34][35], chemical deposition [36,37], sol-gel [38,39], dip-coating [40,41], pulsed-laser deposition [42], and electrodeposition [43].…”

New Anodic Discoloration Materials Applying Energy-Storage Electrochromic Device

“…The harmful macro-particles are the main factor why the CAP technique is not suitable for industrial applications. Therefore, we amended a way that made use of Theorton deposition [10][11][12]22,23] to reduce marco-particle size and adjust the process parameters for high work pressure to turn up self-organized structure, and high horizontal magnetic to improve the quality.…”