Thermochromic VO2 thin films: solution-based processing, improved optical properties, and lowered phase transformation temperature

Coordination Compound Guided a Novel Composite Film with Zn2V2O7 Nanoflake and VO2@Zn2V2O7 Nanoparticle for Enhanced Thermochromism Smart Window

Thermochromic vanadium dioxide (VO2) can intelligently modulate the transmittance of indoor solar radiation to reduce the energy consumption of air conditioning in buildings. Nevertheless, it remains a great challenge to simultaneously improve the luminous transmittance (Tlum) and solar modulation ability (ΔTsol) of VO2. In this study, a novel approach is employed utilizing a coordination compound to finely tune the growth of a VO2 based composite film, yielding a hierarchical film comprising Zn2V2O7 nanoflakes and VO2@Zn2V2O7 core-shell nanoparticles. Remarkably, the resulting composite films showcase exceptional optical performance, achieving a Tlum of up to 73.0% and ΔTsol of 15.7%. These outcomes are attributed to the antireflection properties inherent in the nanoflake structure and the localized surface plasmon resonance of well-dispersed VO2 nanoparticles. In addition, the Zn2V2O7-VO2 film demonstrates remarkable environmental durability, retaining 90% of its initial ΔTsol even after undergoing aging at 100 °C under 50% relative humidity for a substantial period of 30 days - a durability equivalent to ≈20 years under ambient conditions. This work not only achieves a harmonious balance between Tlum and ΔTsol but also introduces a promising avenue for the design of distinctive composite nanostructures.

Multiwavelength camouflage metamaterials with adjustable emissivity

Metamaterials-based multispectral camouflage has attracted growing interest in most fields of military and aerospace due to its unprecedented emission adjustability covering an ultra-broadband spectral range. Conventional camouflage mainly concentrates on an individual spectral range, e. g. either of visible, mid-wavelength-infrared (MWIR) or long-wavelength-infrared (LWIR), which is especially incapable of self-adaptive thermal camouflage to the changing ambient environment. Here, we theoretically demonstrate a multispectral camouflage metamaterial consisting of a four-layer titanium/silicon/vanadium dioxide/ titanium (Ti/Si/VO2/Ti) nanostructure, where the background temperature-adaptive thermal camouflage is implemented by exploiting the switchable metal/dielectric state of the phase-changing material VO2 for regulating the infrared emissivity of the designed metamaterial, whilst visible color camouflage is also achieved by tuning thickness of middle Si layer to match the background's appearance. It has been shown that the designed metamaterial with the dielectric state of VO2 enables thermal camouflage of high background temperature by increasing the thermal emission (average emissivity of 0.69/0.83 for MWIR/LWIR range), meanwhile, the metamaterial of the metallic state of VO2 for low background temperature thermal camouflage stemming from low emission (average emissivity of 0.29 for both MWIR/LWIR range) due to high infrared reflection. Furthermore, the designed metamaterial structural color is robust for a phase change switching. This proposed adaptive camouflage provides a potential strategy to broaden dynamical camouflage technology for further practical application in the fields of military and civilian.

Sol-Gel Derived Tungsten Doped VO2 Thin Films on Si Substrate with Tunable Phase Transition Properties

Vanadium dioxide (VO₂) with semiconductor-metal phase transition characteristics has presented great application potential in various optoelectrical smart devices. However, the preparation of doped VO₂ film with a lower phase transition threshold on Si substrate needs more investigation for the exploration of silicon-based VO₂ devices. In this work, the VO₂ films doped with different contents of W element were fabricated on high-purity Si substrate, assisted with a post-annealing process. The films exhibited good crystallinity and uniform thickness. The X-ray diffraction and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy characterizations illustrated that W element can be doped into the lattice of VO₂ and lead to small lattice distortion. In turn, the in situ FT-IR measurements indicated that the phase transition temperature of the VO₂ films can be decreased continuously with W doping content. Simultaneously, the doping would lead to largely enhanced conductivity in the film, which results in reduced optical transmittance. This work provides significant insights into the design of doped VO₂ films for silicon-based devices.

Towards Room Temperature Phase Transition of W-Doped VO2 Thin Films Deposited by Pulsed Laser Deposition: Thermochromic, Surface, and Structural Analysis

Vanadium dioxide (VO₂) with an insulator-to-metal (IMT) transition (∼68 °C) is considered a very attractive thermochromic material for smart window applications. Indeed, tailoring and understanding the thermochromic and surface properties at lower temperatures can enable room-temperature applications. The effect of W doping on the thermochromic, surface, and nanostructure properties of VO₂ thin film was investigated in the present proof. W-doped VO₂ thin films with different W contents were deposited by pulsed laser deposition (PLD) using V/W (+O₂) and V₂O₅/W multilayers. Rapid thermal annealing at 400-450 °C under oxygen flow was performed to crystallize the as-deposited films. The thermochromic, surface chemistry, structural, and morphological properties of the thin films obtained were investigated. The results showed that the V⁵⁺ was more surface sensitive and W distribution was homogeneous in all samples. Moreover, the V₂O₅ acted as a W diffusion barrier during the annealing stage, whereas the V+O₂ environment favored W surface diffusion. The phase transition temperature gradually decreased with increasing W content with a high efficiency of -26 °C per at. % W. For the highest doping concentration of 1.7 at. %, VO₂ showed room-temperature transition (26 °C) with high luminous transmittance (62%), indicating great potential for optical applications.

Integration of daytime radiative cooling and solar heating

In recent years, sustainable energy development has become a major theme of research. The combination of solar heating and daytime radiative cooling has the potential to build a competitive strategy to alleviate current environmental and energy problems. Several studies on the combination of daytime radiative cooling and solar heating have been reported to improve energy utilization efficiency. However, most integrations still have a low solar/mid-infrared spectrum regulation range, low heating/cooling performance, and poor stability. To promote this technology further for real-world applications, herein we summarize the latest progress, technical features, bottlenecks, and future opportunities for the current integration of daytime radiative cooling and solar heating through the switch mode (including electrical, thermal-responsive, and mechanical regulations) and collaborative mode.

Infrared optical properties modulation of VO2 thin film fabricated by ultrafast pulsed laser deposition for thermochromic smart window applications

Over the years, vanadium dioxide, (VO₂(M1)), has been extensively utilised to fabricate thermochromic thin films with the focus on using external stimuli, such as heat, to modulate the visible through near-infrared transmittance for energy efficiency of buildings and indoor comfort. It is thus valuable to extend the study of thermochromic materials into the mid-infrared (MIR) wavelengths for applications such as smart radiative devices. On top of this, there are numerous challenges with synthesising pure VO₂ (M1) thin films, as most fabrication techniques require the post-annealing of a deposited thin film to convert amorphous VO₂ into a crystalline phase. Here, we present a direct method to fabricate thicker VO₂(M1) thin films onto hot silica substrates (at substrate temperatures of 400 °C and 700 °C) from vanadium pentoxide (V₂O₅) precursor material. A high repetition rate (10 kHz) femtosecond laser is used to deposit the V₂O₅ leading to the formation of VO₂ (M1) without any post-annealing steps. Surface morphology, structural properties, and UV–visible optical properties, including optical band gap and complex refractive index, as a function of the substrate temperature, were studied and reported below. The transmission electron microscopic (TEM) and X-ray diffraction studies confirm that VO₂ (M1) thin films deposited at 700 °C are dominated by a highly texturized polycrystalline monoclinic crystalline structure. The thermochromic characteristics in the mid-infrared (MIR) at a wavelength range of 2.5–5.0 μm are presented using temperature-dependent transmittance measurements. The first-order phase transition from metal-to-semiconductor and the hysteresis bandwidth of the transition were confirmed to be 64.4 °C and 12.6 °C respectively, for a sample fabricated at 700 °C. Thermo-optical emissivity properties indicate that these VO₂ (M1) thin films fabricated with femtosecond laser deposition have strong potential for both radiative thermal management or control via active energy-saving windows for buildings, and satellites and spacecraft.

Sputtering Flexible VO2 Films for Effective Thermal Modulation

Flexible vanadium dioxide (VO₂) thermochromic films show great potential for large-scale fabrication and possess broader applications compared with VO₂ coatings on rigid substrates. However, the fabrication of flexible VO₂ films remains a challenge so far, leading to the scarcity of research on flexible VO₂ films for smart windows. With the aim to obtain a flexible VO₂-based films with excellent optical properties and a long service life, we designed and successfully fabricated a flexible ITO/VO₂/ITO (IVI) film on the colorless transparent polyimide substrate, which could be directly attached to glasses for indoor temperature modulation. This flexible IVI film effectively enhances the luminous transmittance (T_lum) and solar modulation ability (ΔT_sol) (15 and 68% increase relative to a VO₂ single layer), reduces the thermal emissivity (ε_T) (50.7% decrease relative to a VO₂ single layer), and exhibits better durability than previously reported structures. Such excellent comprehensive performance offers it great potential in practical applications on smart windows. This work is supposed to provide a new strategy for facile direct fabrication of flexible VO₂ films and broaden the applications of flexible VO₂ in more coatings and devices.

All-weather thermochromic windows for synchronous solar and thermal radiation regulation

Adaptive control of solar and thermal radiation through windows is of pivotal importance for building energy saving. However, such synchronous passive regulations are challenging to be integrated into one thermochromic window. Here, we develop a solar and thermal regulatory (STR) window by integrating poly(N-isopropylacrylamide) (pNIPAm) and silver nanowires (AgNWs) into pNIPAm/AgNW composites. A hitherto unexplored mechanism, originating from the temperature-triggered water capture and release due to pNIPAm phase transition, is exploited to achieve simultaneous regulations of solar transmission and thermal emission. The STR window shows excellent solar modulation (58.4%) and thermal modulation (57.1%) and demonstrates effective regulation of indoor temperatures during both daytime and nighttime. Compared to other thermochromic technologies, the STR window reduces heat loss in cold environment while promotes heat dissipation in hot conditions, achieving efficient energy saving in all weathers. This dual solar and thermal regulation mechanism may provide unidentified insights into the advancement of smart window technology.

Bistable absorption in a 1D photonic crystal with a nanocomposite defect layer

We investigate the nonlinear absorption properties of a defective one-dimensional photonic crystal at the near-infrared range using the nonlinear transfer matrix method. The defect is a nanocomposite layer containing vanadium dioxide nanoparticles sandwiched between two nonlinear dielectric layers. The linear absorption spectrum of the designed structure has three resonant absorption lines at the bandgap region of the photonic crystal. We can reconfigure the structure in the linear regime from nearly transparent to absorbent or vice versa in multiple resonant wavelengths by adjusting the temperature. Moreover, the system shows absorptive bistability by adjusting the intensity and incident angle of the input light. We discuss the tunability of the nonlinear absorption in detail. In the nonlinear regime, we show that, besides the temperature, the structure can be reconfigured from absorbent to transparent and vice versa by adjusting the incident optical power and the incident angle. We validate the results by examining the electric field distribution throughout the structure.

Preparation of shape-controlling VO2(M/R) nanoparticles via one-step hydrothermal synthesis

In this study, we developed a facile one-step hydrothermal process that allows to synthesize high-purity VO2(M/R) nanoparticles with various morphologies such as nanorods, nanogranules, nanoblocks, and nanospheres. W dopants are successfully implanted in VO2(M/R) unit cells with high doping efficiency, which allows to regulate the size, morphology, and phase of obtained nanoparticles. The underlying regulation mechanism is presented in detail to reveal how hydrothermal products vary with W doping contents, which provides a synthetic strategy for the preparation of shape-controlling VO2(M/R) nanoparticles with high purity to satisfy different specific demands for corresponding applications in the field of thermochromic smart windows.

Understanding the Phase Transition Evolution Mechanism of Partially M2 Phased VO2 Film by Hydrogen Incorporation

Studies on the hydrogen incorporated M1 phase of VO₂ film have been widely reported. However, there are few works on an M2 phase of VO₂. Recently, the M2 phase in VO₂ has received considerable attention due to the possibility of realizing a Mott transition field-effect transistor. By varying the postannealing environment, systematic variations of the M2 phase in (020)-oriented VO₂ films grown on Al₂O₃(0001) were observed. The M2 phase converted to the metallic M1 phase at first and then to the metallic rutile phase after hydrogen annealing (i.e., for H₂/N₂ mixture and H₂ environments). From the diffraction and spectroscopy measurements, the transition is attributed to suppressed electron interactions, not structural modification caused by hydrogen incorporation. Our results suggest the understanding of the phase transition process of the M2 phase by hydrogen incorporation and the possibility of realization of the M2 phased-based Mott transition field-effect transistor.

Temperature-dependent infrared ellipsometry of Mo-doped VO2 thin films across the insulator to metal transition

We present a spectroscopic ellipsometry study of Mo-doped VO₂ thin films deposited on silicon substrates for the mid-infrared range. The dielectric functions and conductivity were extracted from analytical fittings of Ψ and Δ ellipsometric angles showing a strong dependence on the dopant concentration and the temperature. Insulator-to-metal transition (IMT) temperature is found to decrease linearly with increasing doping level. A correction to the classical Drude model (termed Drude-Smith) has been shown to provide excellent fits to the experimental measurements of dielectric constants of doped/undoped films and the extracted parameters offer an adequate explanation for the IMT based on the carriers backscattering across the percolation transition. The smoother IMT observed in the hysteresis loops as the doping concentration is increased, is explained by charge density accumulation, which we quantify through the integral of optical conductivity. In addition, we describe the physics behind a localized Fano resonance that has not yet been demonstrated and explained in the literature for doped/undoped VO₂ films.

A Monoclinic V1-x-yTixRuyO2 Thin Film with Enhanced Thermal-Sensitive Performance

Preparing the thermal-sensitive thin films with high temperature coefficient of resistance (TCR) and low resistivity by a highly compatible process is favorable for increasing the sensitivity of microbolometers with small pixels. Here, we report an effective and process-compatible approach for preparing V_1-x-yTi_xRu_yO₂ thermal-sensitive thin films with monoclinic structure, high TCR, and low resistivity through a reactive sputtering process followed by annealing in oxygen atmosphere at 400 °C. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy demonstrates that Ti⁴⁺ and Ru⁴⁺ ions are combined into VO₂. X-ray diffraction, Raman spectroscopy, and transmission electron microscopy reveal that V_1-x-yTi_xRu_yO₂ thin films have a monoclinic lattice structure as undoped VO₂. But V_1-x-yTi_xRu_yO₂ thin films exhibit no-SMT feature from room temperature (RT) to 106 °C due to the pinning effect of high-concentration Ti in monoclinic lattice. Moreover, RT resistivity of the V_0.8163Ti_0.165Ru_0.0187O₂ thin film is only one-eighth of undoped VO₂ thin film, and its TCR is as high as 3.47%/°C.

Thermochromic Behavior of Yttrium-Substituted Bismuth Oxides

High-temperature thermochromic materials are poorly explored in fundamental research, let alone applied research, although these materials may be used as low-cost, intuitively usable sensing materials in an industrial environment. Yet, only few of these materials have been described systematically. We describe a series of yttrium-substituted bismuth oxides (Bi_1-xY_x)₂O₃ (0.05 ≤ x ≤ 0.25) that show thermochromic behavior with a color change from yellow at low temperatures to various brown hues at high temperatures. The compounds were analyzed between 293 and 1050 K by X-ray powder diffraction, UV/vis spectroscopy, and differential scanning calorimetry. A combination of derived absorption spectral fitting and Tauc methods was applied to determine the band gap energies and band gap types from the diffuse UV/vis spectra, respectively. Two types of materials were found: one with x = 0.05 that exhibits the tetragonal β-phase at room temperature, and the defect fluorite-type cubic δ-phase at temperatures above 920 K. This phase showed a reversible, gradual color change upon heating, followed by an abrupt color change at the phase-transformation temperature. The second type of material had higher yttrium contents (x > 0.10); these samples were cubic at room temperature and showed a continuous color change upon heating and cooling. In contrast to the material with x = 0.05, these latter phases show a reduced cycle stability and were gradually annealed to the hexagonal phase-I. The samples with x = 0.10 provided a mixture of the β- and δ-phases, showing both, the reversible behavior for the β- to δ-phase transition and the irreversible behavior concerning the β₂-phase. This points the way toward smart materials that can not only sense the actual thermal stress but also monitor cumulative thermal stresses over a certain material lifetime.

Self-Template Synthesis of Nanoporous VO2-Based Films: Localized Surface Plasmon Resonance and Enhanced Optical Performance for Solar Glazing Application

Poly(tetrafluoroethylene) (Teflon) has been selected as the self-template structural material in the preparation of VO₂ films using a reactive magnetron sputtering method and post-annealing process. VO₂ films with spontaneous random nanoporous structures growing on quartz glasses have been deliberately established via bottom-up processing through this novel and facile approach. The nanoporous VO₂ films exhibit an excellent optical performance based on the localized surface plasmon resonance, with ultrahigh luminous transmittance ( T_lum-L) up to 78.0% and the promoted solar modulation ability (Δ T_sol) of 14.1%. Meanwhile, the ingenious microstructure of the film provides an antireflection function from multiple perspectives on visible light and indicates the potential of the windshield on vehicles for smart solar modulation. The nanoporous films expand the practical application of thermochromic VO₂ to a fire-new field, breaking the optical performance envelope of the single-layer dense VO₂ film away, and offering a universal method to prepare homogeneous nanoporous structures for thin films.

Large Scale Synthesis of Nanopyramidal-Like VO₂ Films by an Oxygen-Assisted Etching Growth Method with Significantly Enhanced Field Emission Properties

The present investigation reported on a novel oxygen-assisted etching growth method that can directly transform wafer-scale plain VO₂ thin films into pyramidal-like VO₂ nanostructures with highly improved field-emission properties. The oxygen applied during annealing played a key role in the formation of the special pyramidal-like structures by introducing thin oxygen-rich transition layers on the top surfaces of the VO₂ crystals. An etching related growth and transformation mechanism for the synthesis of nanopyramidal films was proposed. Structural characterizations confirmed the formation of a composite VO₂ structure of monoclinic M1 (P21/c) and Mott insulating M2 (C2/m) phases for the films at room temperature. Moreover, by varying the oxygen concentration, the nanocrystal morphology of the VO₂ films could be tuned, ranging over pyramidal, dot, and/or twin structures. These nanopyramidal VO₂ films showed potential benefits for application such as temperature-regulated field emission devices. For one typical sample deposited on a 3-inch silicon substrate, its emission current (measured at 6 V/μm) increased by about 1000 times after the oxygen-etching treatment, and the field enhancement factor β reached as high as 3810 and 1620 for the M and R states, respectively. The simple method reported in the present study may provide a protocol for building a variety of large interesting surfaces for VO₂-based device applications.

Low-cost VO2(M1) thin films synthesized by ultrasonic nebulized spray pyrolysis of an aqueous combustion mixture for IR photodetection

We report detailed structural, electrical transport and IR photoresponse properties of large area VO2(M1) thin films deposited by a simple cost-effective two-step technique. Phase purity was confirmed by XRD and Raman spectroscopy studies. The high quality of the films was further established by a phase change from low temperature monoclinic phase to high temperature tetragonal rutile phase at 68 °C from temperature dependent Raman studies. An optical band gap of 0.75 eV was estimated from UV-visible spectroscopy. FTIR studies showed 60% reflectance change at λ = 7.7 μm from low reflectivity at low temperature to high reflectivity at high temperature in a transition temperature of 68 °C. Electrical characterization showed a first order transition of the films with a resistance change of four orders of magnitude and TCR of -3.3% K-1 at 30 °C. Hall-effect measurements revealed the n-type nature of VO2 thin films with room temperature Hall mobility, μ e of 0.097 cm2 V-1 s-1, conductivity, σ of 0.102 Ω-1 cm-1 and carrier concentration, n e = 5.36 × 1017 cm-3. In addition, we fabricated a high photoresponsive IR photodetector based on VO2(M1) thin films with excellent stability and reproducibility in ambient conditions using a low-cost method. The VO2(M1) photodetector exhibited high sensitivity, responsivity, quantum efficiency, detectivity and photoconductive gain of 5.18%, 1.54 mA W-1, 0.18%, 3.53 × 1010 jones and 9.99 × 103 respectively upon illumination with a 1064 nm laser at a power density of 200 mW cm-2 and 10 V bias voltage at room temperature.

Pt-free, low-cost and efficient counter electrode with carbon wrapped VO2(M) nanofiber for dye-sensitized solar cells

The present study reports the use of one-dimensional carbon wrapped VO₂(M) nanofiber (VO₂(M)/C) as a cost-effective counter electrode for dye-sensitized solar cells (DSSCs); where M denotes monoclinic crystal system. Uniform short length nanofiber was synthesised by a sol-gel based simple and versatile electrospinning and post carbonization technique. The investigation of nanostructure and morphological analysis were performed by X-ray diffraction (XRD), field emission scanning electron microscope (FE-SEM), and transmission electron microscope (TEM) with EDAX. The electrochemical response was comprehensively characterized by cyclic voltammetry, electrochemical impedance spectroscopy and Tafel polarization. The electrochemical analysis of the VO₂(M)/C nanofiber counter electrode exhibits significant electrocatalytic activity towards the reduction of triiodide and low charge transfer resistance at the electrode-electrolyte interface. The DSSCs fabricated with carbon-wrapped VO₂(M) nanofiber CE showed high power conversion efficiency of 6.53% under standard test condition of simulated 1SUN illumination at AM1.5 G, which was comparable to the 7.39% observed for conventional thermally decomposed Pt CE based DSSC under same test conditions. This result encourages the next step of modification and use of low-cost VO₂(M) as an alternate counter electrode for DSSCs to achieve a substantial efficiency for future energy demand.

Reversible and repeatable phase transition at a negative temperature regime for doped and co-doped spin coated mixed valence vanadium oxide thin films

Smooth, uniform mixed valance vanadium oxide (VO) thin films are grown on flexible, transparent Kapton and opaque Al6061 substrates by the spin coating technique at a constant rpm of 3000. Various elements e.g., F, Ti, Mo and W are utilized for doping and co-doping of VO. All the spin coated films are heat treated in a vacuum. Other than the doping elements the existence of only V⁴⁺ and V⁵⁺ species is noticed in the present films. Transmittance as a function of wavelength and the optical band gap are also investigated for doped and co-doped VO thin films grown on a Kapton substrate. The highest transparency (∼75%) is observed for the Ti, Mo and F (i.e., Ti–Mo–FVO) co-doped VO system while the lowest transparency (∼35%) is observed for the F (i.e., FVO) doped VO system. Thus, the highest optical band gap is estimated as 2.73 eV for Ti–Mo–FVO and the lowest optical band gap (i.e., 2.59 eV) is found for the FVO system. The temperature dependent phase transition characteristics of doped and co-doped VO films on both Kapton and Al6061 are studied by the differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) technique. Reversible and repeatable phase transition is noticed in the range of −24 to −26.3 °C.

Smooth, uniform mixed valance vanadium oxide (VO) thin films are grown on flexible, transparent Kapton and opaque Al6061 substrates by the spin coating technique at a constant rpm of 3000.

Warm/cool-tone switchable thermochromic material for smart windows by orthogonally integrating properties of pillar[6]arene and ferrocene

Functional materials play a vital role in the fabrication of smart windows, which can provide a more comfortable indoor environment for humans to enjoy a better lifestyle. Traditional materials for smart windows tend to possess only a single functionality with the purpose of regulating the input of solar energy. However, different color tones also have great influences on human emotions. Herein, a strategy for orthogonal integration of different properties is proposed, namely the thermo-responsiveness of ethylene glycol-modified pillar[6]arene (EGP6) and the redox-induced reversible color switching of ferrocene/ferrocenium groups are orthogonally integrated into one system. This gives rise to a material with cooperative and non-interfering dual functions, featuring both thermochromism and warm/cool tone-switchability. Consequently, the obtained bifunctional material for fabricating smart windows can not only regulate the input of solar energy but also can provide a more comfortable color tone to improve the feelings and emotions of people in indoor environments.

Materials for smart windows usually possess single functionality, thus developing materials that regulate solar energy whilst changing color to affect human emotion is desirable. Here the authors combine pillar[6]arenes and ferrocene/ferrocenium groups to produce warm/cool tone-switchable thermochromic materials.

VO2 /TiN Plasmonic Thermochromic Smart Coatings for Room-Temperature Applications

Vanadium dioxide/titanium nitride (VO₂ /TiN) smart coatings are prepared by hybridizing thermochromic VO₂ with plasmonic TiN nanoparticles. The VO₂ /TiN coatings can control infrared (IR) radiation dynamically in accordance with the ambient temperature and illumination intensity. It blocks IR light under strong illumination at 28 °C but is IR transparent under weak irradiation conditions or at a low temperature of 20 °C. The VO₂ /TiN coatings exhibit a good integral visible transmittance of up to 51% and excellent IR switching efficiency of 48% at 2000 nm. These unique advantages make VO₂ /TiN promising as smart energy-saving windows.

High Performance and Enhanced Durability of Thermochromic Films Using VO2@ZnO Core-Shell Nanoparticles

For VO₂-based thermochromic smart windows, high luminous transmittance (T_lum) and solar regulation efficiency (ΔT_sol) are usually pursued as the most critical issues, which have been discussed in numerous researches. However, environmental durability, which has rarely been considered, is also so vital for practical application because it determines lifetime and cycle times of smart windows. In this paper, we report novel VO₂@ZnO core-shell nanoparticles with ultrahigh durability as well as improved thermochromic performance. The VO₂@ZnO nanoparticles-based thermochromic film exhibits a robust durability that the ΔT_sol keeps 77% (from 19.1% to 14.7%) after 10³ hours in a hyperthermal and humid environment, while a relevant property of uncoated VO₂ nanoparticles-based film badly deteriorates after 30 h. Meanwhile, compared with the uncoated VO₂-based film, the VO₂@ZnO-based film demonstrates an 11.0% increase (from 17.2% to 19.1%) in ΔT_sol and a 31.1% increase (from 38.9% to 51.0%) in T_lum. Such integrated thermochromic performance expresses good potential for practical application of VO₂-based smart windows.

Evolution of Structural and Electrical Properties of Oxygen-Deficient VO2 under Low Temperature Heating Process

Structural stability and functional performances of vanadium dioxide (VO₂) are strongly influenced by oxygen vacancies. However, the mechanism of metal-insulator transition (MIT) influenced by defects is still under debate. Here, we study the evolution of structure and electrical property of oxygen-deficient VO₂ by a low temperature annealing process (LTP) based on a truss-structured VO₂ nanonet. The oxygenation process of the oxygen-deficient VO₂ is greatly prolonged, which enables us to probe the gradual change of properties of the oxygen-deficient VO₂. A continuous lattice reduction is observed during LTP. No recrystallization and structural collapse of the VO₂ nanonet can be found after LTP. The valence-band X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) measurements indicate that the oxygen deficiency strongly affects the energy level of the valence band edge. Correspondingly, the resistance changes of the VO₂ films from 1 to 4.5 orders of magnitude are achieved by LTP. The effect of oxygen vacancy on the electric field driven MIT is investigated. The threshold value of voltage triggering the MIT decreases with increasing the oxygen vacancy concentration. This work demonstrates a novel and effective way to control the content of oxygen vacancies in VO₂ and the obvious impact of oxygen vacancy on MIT, facilitating further research on the role of oxygen vacancy in structure and MIT of VO₂, which is important for the deep understanding of MIT and exploiting innovative functional application of VO₂.

Influence of Discharge Current on Phase Transition Properties of High Quality Polycrystalline VO₂ Thin Film Fabricated by HiPIMS

To fabricate high-quality polycrystalline VO₂ thin film with a metal-insulator transition (MIT) temperature less than 50 °C, high-power impulse magnetron sputtering with different discharge currents was employed in this study. The as-deposited VO₂ films were characterized by a four-point probe resistivity measurement system, visible-near infrared (IR) transmittance spectra, X-ray diffraction (XRD), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), and scanning electron microscopy. The resistivity results revealed that all the as-deposited films had a high resistance change in the phase transition process, and the MIT temperature decreased with the increased discharge current, where little deterioration in the phase transition properties, such as the resistance and transmittance changes, could be found. Additionally, XRD patterns at various temperatures exhibited that some reverse deformations that existed in the MIT process of the VO₂ film, with a large amount of preferred crystalline orientations. The decrease of the MIT temperature with little deterioration on phase transition properties could be attributed to the reduction of the preferred grain orientations.

Optimized Atmospheric-Pressure Chemical Vapor Deposition Thermochromic VO2 Thin Films for Intelligent Window Applications

Monoclinic vanadium(IV) oxide (VO₂) has been widely studied for energy-efficient glazing applications because of its thermochromic properties, displaying a large change in transmission of near-IR wavelengths between the hot and cold states. The optimization of the reaction between VCl₄ and ethyl acetate via atmospheric-pressure chemical vapor deposition (APCVD) was shown to produce thin films of monoclinic VO₂ with excellent thermochromic properties (ΔT _sol = 12%). The tailoring of the thermochromic and visible light transmission was shown to be possible by altering the density and morphology of the deposited films. The films were characterized by X-ray diffraction, atomic-force microscopy, scanning electron microscopy, ellipsometry, and UV-vis spectrometry. This article provides useful design rules for the synthesis of high-quality VO₂ thin films by APCVD.

Dual-Phase Transformation: Spontaneous Self-Template Surface-Patterning Strategy for Ultra-transparent VO2 Solar Modulating Coatings

Dual-phase transformation has been developed as a template-free surface patterning technique in this study. Ordered VO₂ honeycomb structures with a complex hierarchy have been fabricated via this method, and the microstructures of the obtained VO₂(M) coatings are tunable by tailoring the pertinent variables. The VO₂(M) honeycomb-structured coatings have excellent visible light transmittance at 700 nm (T_vis) up to 95.4% with decent solar modulating ability (ΔT_sol) of 5.5%, creating the potential as ultratransparent smart solar modulating coatings. Its excellent performance has been confirmed by a proof-of-principle demonstration. The dual-phase transformation technique has dramatically simplified the conventional colloidal lithography technique as a scalable surface patterning technique for achieving high-performance metal oxide coatings with diverse applications, such as catalysis, sensing, optics, electronics, and superwettable materials.

Low-Cost and Facile Synthesis of the Vanadium Oxides V2O3, VO2, and V2O5 and Their Magnetic, Thermochromic and Electrochromic Properties

In this study, vanadium sesquioxide (V₂O₃), dioxide (VO₂), and pentoxide (V₂O₅) were all synthesized from a single polyol route through the precipitation of an intermediate precursor: vanadium ethylene glycolate (VEG). Various annealing treatments of the VEG precursor, under controlled atmosphere and temperature, led to the successful synthesis of the three pure oxides, with sub-micrometer crystallite size. To the best of our knowledge, the synthesis of the three oxides V₂O₅, VO₂, and V₂O₃ from a single polyol batch has never been reported in the literature. In a second part of the study, the potentialities brought about by the successful preparation of sub-micrometer V₂O₅, VO₂, and V₂O₃ are illustrated by the characterization of the electrochromic properties of V₂O₅ films, a discussion about the metal to insulator transition of VO₂ on the basis of in situ measurements versus temperature of its electrical and optical properties, and the characterization of the magnetic transition of V₂O₃ powder from SQUID measurements. For the latter compound, the influence of the crystallite size on the magnetic properties is discussed.

Ionic strength induced electrodeposition: a universal approach for nanomaterial deposition at selective areas

An appealing alternative approach to the conventional electrochemical deposition is presented, which can be universally utilized to form nanomaterial coatings from their aqueous dispersions without involving their oxidation-reduction. It is based on altering the ionic strength by electrical potential in the vicinity of the electrode surface, which causes the nanomaterials to deposit. The concept has been demonstrated for four different systems.

Low temperature fabrication of thermochromic VO2 thin films by low-pressure chemical vapor deposition

High-performance thermochromic VO₂ films were fabricated by LPCVD, and the mechanism for their low transition temperatures was studied using first-principles calculations.

Tungsten doped VO2/microgels hybrid thermochromic material and its smart window application

A new thermochromic composite was successfully synthesized by a combination of HPCA microgel and W doped VO₂ nanoparticles. Within a suitable working temperature, this composite can provide excellent modulation in both the visible and IR ranges.

Electrical Switching in Semiconductor-Metal Self-Assembled VO2 Disordered Metamaterial Coatings

As a strongly correlated metal oxide, VO₂ inspires several highly technological applications. The challenging reliable wafer-scale synthesis of high quality polycrystalline VO₂ coatings is demonstrated on 4” Si taking advantage of the oxidative sintering of chemically vapor deposited VO₂ films. This approach results in films with a semiconductor-metal transition (SMT) quality approaching that of the epitaxial counterpart. SMT occurs with an abrupt electrical resistivity change exceeding three orders of magnitude with a narrow hysteresis width. Spatially resolved infrared and Raman analyses evidence the self-assembly of VO₂ disordered metamaterial, compresing monoclinic (M1 and M2) and rutile (R) domains, at the transition temperature region. The M2 mediation of the M1-R transition is spatially confined and related to the localized strain-stabilization of the M2 phase. The presence of the M2 phase is supposed to play a role as a minor semiconducting phase far above the SMT temperature. In terms of application, we show that the VO₂ disordered self-assembly of M and R phases is highly stable and can be thermally triggered with high precision using short heating or cooling pulses with adjusted strengths. Such a control enables an accurate and tunable thermal control of the electrical switching.

Hydrothermal growth of VO2 nanoplate thermochromic films on glass with high visible transmittance

The preparation of thermochromic vanadium dioxide (VO₂) films in an economical way is of interest to realizing the application of smart windows. Here, we reported a successful preparation of self-assembly VO₂ nanoplate films on TiO₂-buffered glass by a facile hydrothermal process. The VO₂ films composed of triangle-shaped plates standing on substrates exhibit a self-generated porous structure, which favors the transmission of solar light. The porosity of films is easily controlled by changing the concentration of precursor solutions. Excellent thermochromic properties are observed with visible light transmittance as high as 70.3% and solar modulating efficiency up to 9.3% in a VO₂ film with porosity of ~35.9%. This work demonstrates a promising technique to promote the commercial utilization of VO₂ in smart windows.

THz Transmittance and Electrical Properties Tuning across IMT in Vanadium Dioxide Films by Al Doping

Due to the insulator-metal transition (IMT) performance covering the full terahertz (THz) band, VO2 films were extensively investigated as an excellent candidate for modulating, switching, and memory devices. However, some remarkable absorption peaks owing to the infrared-active phonon modes suppressed the films' modulation ability and restricted the films' application in high THz frequency. Here we prepared Al-doped VO2 films on (111) directional silicon substrate, which rapidly counteracted the absorption peak and exhibited widely modulating properties. Al dopants introduced into the films brought a significant shift to high frequency in Raman spectra. The result was attributed to the effect of modifying VO2 crystal, leading the V-O bond to be strained more intensively, contracting the distance of the V-V dimers. All the Raman results indicated an oxidation effect by Al doping. However, the XPS results showed a valence reduction of the vanadium element, which was caused by the valence difference between V and Al atoms. In addition to the surface morphology characterization, the IMT properties of the shrinkage of hysteresis width and resistance variations in both electrical and THz optical aspects have been systemically analyzed. An additional difference is that the temperature of the optical transition behaves lower than the electrical transition observed, which resulted from the mechanism of transition propagation and boundary barriers.

Hexagonal pillar structure of heteroepitaxial titania-vanadia nanocrystal films for high performance in thermochromic and photocatalytic properties

In this study, we employed the mixture of titanium and vanadium sols with various ratios in WO3 and poly(vinylpyrrolidone) solution to generate the precursors of W-doped titania-vanadia composites. The heteroepitaxial W-doped titania-vanadia crystals (HWTVCs) with various structures were obtained after a calcination process at 700 °C for 3 h. The structure transformation of HWTVCs was highly relative to the ratio of titanium to vanadium sols. A hexagonal pillar structure was found at a ratio of 0.25 for titanium to vanadium sols. The scales of the hexagonal pillars could be apparently divided into two groups. The scale of one group ranged from 80 to 130 nm while the scale of the other ranged from 300 to 950 nm. The heteroepitaxial crystals with hexagonal pillar structure enhanced the visible transmittance, near-infrared switching efficiency and the ability to photocatalytically degrade the organic component under visible light irradiation. Such bifunctional (photocatalytic and thermochromic) nanomaterials might have applications in energy-saving smart windows.

Switchable Materials for Smart Windows

This article reviews the basic principles of and recent developments in electrochromic, photochromic, and thermochromic materials for applications in smart windows. Compared with current static windows, smart windows can dynamically modulate the transmittance of solar irradiation based on weather conditions and personal preferences, thus simultaneously improving building energy efficiency and indoor human comfort. Although some smart windows are commercially available, their widespread implementation has not yet been realized. Recent advances in nanostructured materials provide new opportunities for next-generation smart window technology owing to their unique structure-property relations. Nanomaterials can provide enhanced coloration efficiency, faster switching kinetics, and longer lifetime. In addition, their compatibility with solution processing enables low-cost and high-throughput fabrication. This review also discusses the importance of dual-band modulation of visible and near-infrared (NIR) light, as nearly 50% of solar energy lies in the NIR region. Some latest results show that solution-processable nanostructured systems can selectively modulate the NIR light without affecting the visible transmittance, thus reducing energy consumption by air conditioning, heating, and artificial lighting.

An intermediate phase (NH4)2V4O9 and its effects on the hydrothermal synthesis of VO2 (M) nanoparticles

The hydrothermal synthesis of VO₂ (M) nanoparticles is commonly considered as a result of the transformation of intermediate phase VO₂ (A) or VO₂ (B).

Effects of annealing ambient on oxygen vacancies and phase transition temperature of VO2 thin films

VO₂ thin films are prepared on Si substrates by direct-current (DC) magnetron sputtering at room temperature and annealed in vacuum at different argon pressures.

Depressed haze and enhanced solar modulation capability for VO2-based composite films with distinct size effects

A convenient and controllable method for the fabrication of VO₂-based composite films was reported, and these composite films exhibited reduced haze and improved luminous transmittance in combination with superior solar modulation ability.

Novel VO2(M)–ZnO heterostructured dandelions with combined thermochromic and photocatalytic properties for application in smart coatings

Hierarchical VO₂(M)–ZnO dandelion-like heterostructures with ZnO nanorods grown radially on VO₂(M) nanoparticle cores have been successfully fabricated.

Vanadium Dioxide Nanoparticle-based Thermochromic Smart Coating: High Luminous Transmittance, Excellent Solar Regulation Efficiency, and Near Room Temperature Phase Transition

An annealing-assisted preparation method of well-crystallized VxW1-xO2(M)@SiO2 core-shell nanoparticles for VO2-based thermochromic smart coatings (VTSC) is presented. The additional annealing process reduces the defect density of the initial hydrothermally prepared VxW1-xO2(M) nanoparticles and enhances their crystallinity so that the thermochromic film based on VxW1-xO2(M)@SiO2 nanoparticles can exhibit outstanding thermochromic performance with balanced solar regulation efficiency (ΔTsol) of 17.3%, luminous transmittance (Tlum) up to 52.2%, and critical phase transition temperature (Tc) around 40.4 °C, which is very promising for practical application. Furthermore, it makes great progress in reducing Tc of VTSC to near room temperature (25.2 °C) and simutaneously maintaining excellent optical properties (ΔTsol = 14.7% and Tlum = 50.6%). Such thermochromic performance is good enough to make VTSC applicable to practical architecture.