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- Atak, Gamze, et al.
(författare)
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Durability studies of annealed electrochromic tungsten oxide films
- 2021
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Ingår i: EMRS Fall Meeting 2021.
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Konferensbidrag (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- In electrochromic (EC) applications, annealing is a crucial parameter not only for an individual layer but also for a full device. For the fabrication of a complete EC device, indium tin oxide (ITO) is often preferred as a transparent conductor layer. ITO films with high transparency and low electrical resistance are usually obtained by sputtering at high substrate temperatures. Consequently, the effect of high temperature on the EC layers can be very significant during sputtering of the ITO top layer for EC devices consisting of five sputtered layers on a single substrate. The role of annealing of a single layer of WO3 may also be important for EC performance. In the present work, we studied the effects of annealing on the durability of WO3 films. Thin films of WO3 were deposited by reactive DC magnetron sputtering in a mixture of Ar and O2 gases using an oxygen to argon ratio of 0.15. The total gas pressure was set to 4.0 Pa, and the sputtering power was 200 W. The WO3 films were deposited onto (i) unheated glass plates, (ii) such plates pre-coated with transparent and electrically conducting ITO with a sheet resistance of 60 Ω/square, and (iii) glass plates pre-coated with fluorine-doped tin oxide (FTO) with a sheet resistance of 14 Ω/square. Film thicknesses were 300±10 nm. After deposition of the films, the samples were annealed at 150, 300, 450, and 600 °C in ambient air for one h using a heating rate of 10 °C min-1. Cyclic voltammetry (CV) was performed for up to 500 cycles between 2.0 and 4.0 V vs. Li/Li+ at a scan rate of 20 mV s–1. Annealing at temperatures at and above 300 °C resulted in deteriorated electrochromic properties of the WO3 films i.e., a decreased transmittance variation. Charge density and coloration efficiency changes during extended electrochemical cycling were also observed as a function of cycle number and annealing temperature. It was found that the maximum optical transmittance modulation at a wavelength of 528 nm after 500 CV cycles was 69.3% for the film annealed at 150 °C.
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| 2. |
- Atak, Gamze, et al.
(författare)
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The role of oxygen to argon gas flow ratio on the durability of sputter-deposited electrochromic tungsten oxide films
- 2021
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Ingår i: EMRS Fall Meeting 2021.
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Konferensbidrag (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- Materials that are able to vary their transparency and coloration reversibly when they are subjected to an electrical current or voltage are referred to as “electrochromic” (EC). High optical transmittance modulation and long service lifetime are apparent requirements for EC materials used in smart windows technology. An extended service lifetime is provided by the long-term durability of the materials. One important aspect of durability is the ability to sustain charge transport between the EC film and electrolyte, or between the two EC films in a device, for many hundreds or thousands of cycles without any significant changes in the performance such as optical modulation and inserted-extracted charge. The purpose of this study is to clarify the effects of the oxygen-argon gas flow ratio during sputter deposition on the durability of WO3 films. In this study, the oxygen to argon gas-flow ratio was modulated by setting the O2 flow rate to 7.5, 15.0, 22.5, and 45.0 ml min-1 and using a fixed Ar flow rate of 50 ml min-1. Thus, the oxygen to argon gas-flow ratio was varied from 0.15 to 0.90. The pressure in the sputter plasma was set as 30 mTorr and the sputter power was maintained at 200 W. For durability studies, cyclic voltammetry data were recorded for up to 500 cycles between 2.0 and 4.0 V versus Li/Li+ at a scan rate of 20 mV s-1. High oxygen to argon gas ratio was found to have a positive effect on the EC properties of the films. When the long-term performance of the films was examined, it was seen that all the samples displayed a slow decline of the colored-state transmittance due to ion accumulation in the host material. After 500 color-bleach cycles, the maximum optical transmittance modulation between colored and bleached states at a wavelength of 528 nm was 63.6% when the oxygen to argon gas-flow ratio was 0.90.
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| 3. |
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| 4. |
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| 5. |
- Bayrak Pehlivan, İlknur
(författare)
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Functionalization of polymer electrolytes for electrochromic windows
- 2013
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Doktorsavhandling (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- Saving energy in buildings is of great importance because about 30 to 40 % of the energy in the world is used in buildings. An electrochromic window (ECW), which makes it possible to regulate the inflow of visible light and solar energy into buildings, is a promising technology providing a reduction in energy consumption in buildings along with indoor comfort. A polymer electrolyte is positioned at the center of multi-layer structure of an ECW and plays a significant role in the working of the ECW.In this study, polyethyleneimine: lithium (bis(trifluoromethane)sulfonimide (PEI:LiTFSI)-based polymer electrolytes were characterized by using dielectric/impedance spectroscopy, differential scanning calorimetry, viscosity recording, optical spectroscopy, and electrochromic measurements.In the first part of the study, PEI:LiTFSI electrolytes were characterized at various salt concentrations and temperatures. Temperature dependence of viscosity and ionic conductivity of the electrolytes followed Arrhenius behavior. The viscosity was modeled by the Bingham plastic equation. Molar conductivity, glass transition temperature, viscosity, Walden product, and iso-viscosity conductivity analysis showed effects of segmental flexibility, ion pairs, and mobility on the conductivity. A connection between ionic conductivity and ion-pair relaxation was seen by means of (i) the Barton-Nakajima-Namikawa relation, (ii) activation energies of the bulk relaxation, and ionic conduction and (iii) comparing two equivalent circuit models, containing different types of Havriliak-Negami elements, for the bulk response.In the second part, nanocomposite PEI:LiTFSI electrolytes with SiO2, In2O3, and In2O3:Sn (ITO) were examined. Adding SiO2 to the PEI:LiTFSI enhanced the ionic conductivity by an order of magnitude without any degradation of the optical properties. The effect of segmental flexibility and free ion concentration on the conduction in the presence of SiO2 is discussed. The PEI:LiTFSI:ITO electrolytes had high haze-free luminous transmittance and strong near-infrared absorption without diminished ionic conductivity. Ionic conductivity and optical clarity did not deteriorate for the PEI:LiTFSI:In2O3 and the PEI:LiTFSI:SiO2:ITO electrolytes.Finally, propylene carbonate (PC) and ethylene carbonate (EC) were added to PEI:LiTFSI in order to perform electrochromic measurements. ITO and SiO2 were added to the PEI:LiTFSI:PC:EC and to a proprietary electrolyte. The nanocomposite electrolytes were tested for ECWs with the configuration of the ECWs being plastic/ITO/WO3/polymer electrolyte/NiO (or IrO2)/ITO/plastic. It was seen that adding nanoparticles to polymer electrolytes can improve the coloring/bleaching dynamics of the ECWs.From this study, we show that nanocomposite polymer electrolytes can add new functionalities as well as enhancement in ECW applications.
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