Aqueous synthesis of tin- And indium-doped WO3filmsviaevaporation-driven deposition and their electrochromic properties

Abstract

M-doped WO3(M = Sn or In) films were prepared from aqueous coating solutionsviaevaporation-driven deposition during low-speed dip coating. Sn- and In-doping were easily achieved by controlling the chemical composition of simple coating solutions containing only metal salts and water. The crystallinity of the WO3, Sn-doped WO3, and In-doped WO3films varied with heating temperature, where amorphous and crystalline films were obtained by heating at 200 and 500 °C, respectively. All the amorphous and crystalline films showed an electrochromic response, but good photoelectrochemical stability was observed only for the crystalline samples heated at 500 °C. The crystalline In-WO3films exhibited a faster electrochromic color change than the WO3or Sn-WO3films, and good cycle stability for the electrochromic response in the visible wavelength region.