<title>Optical and electrochromic properties of sol-gel-deposited tungsten oxide films</title>

Abstract

The electrochromic properties of sol-gel and mesoporous tungsten oxide thin films were investigated. Tungsten oxide films were prepared by a spin coating technique from an ethanolic solution of tungsten hexachloride. A block copolymer (BASF Pluronic p₁₂₃, (p₁) was employed as a template to generate the mesoporous structure. The electrochromic and optical properties of such films are described and compared to standard sol-gel tungsten oxide films. A novel ultraviolet (UV) illumination method was developed to remove the polymer templates and was found to improve the coloration efficiency of tungsten oxide in general. All types of films were analyzed by transmission electron microscopy (TEM), atomic force microscopy (AFM), x- ray diffractometry and cyclic voltammetry.