Electrochromic TiO2 films by a facile solvothermal process: Effect of ethanol content on growth and performance

The TiO2 films are directly prepared on FTO-coated substrates by a facile solvothermal method. The influence of ethanol content in precursor on the microstructure and electrochromic performance of TiO2 films is studied. The X-Ray diffraction result shows that the prepared TiO2 samples are crystalline. When the ethanol contents of 20% and 30%, the TiO2 films show (010) preferred orientation and fluffy porous structure. Analysis results of electrochromic performance indicate that the TiO2 film synthesized with the ethanol content of 20% exhibits the highest transmittance modulation (Delta T-780 (nm) = 75.4%), the fastest switching times (bleaching time: 8.9 s, coloration time: 12.2 s) and the largest coloration efficiency (CE = 78 cm(2)/C). In addition, the cyclic voltammetry measurements confirm that the film synthesized with the ethanol content of 20% exhibits high cyclic stability (1000 cycles).

Automated summary

The study investigated the influence of ethanol content on the microstructure and electrochromic performance of TiO2 films. Results showed that the film synthesized with 20% ethanol had the highest transmittance modulation, fastest switching times, largest coloration efficiency, and high cyclic stability.