Investigation of electrodeposited NiO films as electrochromic material for counter electrodes in Smart Windows

Nickel oxide (NiO) thin films were prepared by electrodeposition onto ITO coated glass substrates in one step deposition at 20 and 40 min deposition time durations. The influence of deposition time on film thickness and the optical characteristics of the films were investigated. The samples were annealed at elevated temperature (400 degrees C), and all the films were submitted to UV-vis spectrophotometry, FTIR and Raman measurements. The optical transmittance of the annealed film increases significantly, and at the same time, the reflection of the film decreases. The FTIR Spectra of as deposited and annealed samples show typical for NiO absorption bands. Raman spectra reveal peaks, related to phase crystalline modification. (C) 2013 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.