Recent Progress on Vanadium Dioxide Nanostructures and Devices: Fabrication, Properties, Applications and Perspectives

Abstract

Vanadium dioxide (VO2) is a typical metal-insulator transition (MIT) material, which changes from room-temperature monoclinic insulating phase to high-temperature rutile metallic phase. The phase transition of VO2 is accompanied by sudden changes in conductance and optical transmittance. Due to the excellent phase transition characteristics of VO2, it has been widely studied in the applications of electric and optical devices, smart windows, sensors, actuators, etc. In this review, we provide a summary about several phases of VO2 and their corresponding structural features, the typical fabrication methods of VO2 nanostructures (e.g., thin film and low-dimensional structures (LDSs)) and the properties and related applications of VO2. In addition, the challenges and opportunities for VO2 in future studies and applications are also discussed.

Basic aspects of the metal–insulator transition in vanadium dioxide VO2: a critical review

“…A lot of performed world research is already focused on these developments. Future directions of research concerning potential applications of VO 2 are not explicitly mentioned in this review, but they were recently covered in the reviews of [27][28][29][30]. Also, understanding of physical and chemical processes involved in these applications should open new fundamental questions in material science.…”

“…These days it has been reported that, in addition to the 4 phases described in this section, VO 2 exhibits an important polymorphism. Five new phases of VO 2 as well as diagrams of phase transformation between them have been recently reviewed by [28]. Here in this section, we consider only the R, M 1 , M 2 and T phases connected by the MIT of VO 2 .…”

“…All these substitutions modify sizably the phase diagram of pure VO 2 , as schematically indicated in Figure 6. The physical studies of solid solutions, starting in the 1970's for bulk crystals, are all the more important these days because doped VO 2 thin films are currently used to realize devices having potential applications [27][28][29][30].…”

“…In the last 20 years there has been a renewed interest in the study of the MIT of VO 2 . This interest was motivated by the development of realistic electronic structure calculations, of new spectroscopic methods, using in particular synchrotron radiation, of ultrafast experimental investigation methods of the MIT and of dedicated means for elaboration of nanostructures such as thin films and nanowires [27,28]. Also, the large change of conductivity and of dielectric properties at the MIT of VO 2 , together with its reversible nature, and the large variation of T MI under an external stimulus have triggered the development of many kinds of devices with a large number of potential technological applications.…”

“…Potential applications of VO 2 , which are presently the object of an intense international activity, concern, to name a few, smart windows, bolometer, actuators, transistor, hydrogen storage, thermochromic, nano-photonics. They are covered in recent reviews [27][28][29][30].…”