Electrochromic properties of porous NiO thin film as a counter electrode for NiO/WO3 complementary electrochromic window

Highly porous nickel oxide (NiO) thin films were prepared on ITO glass by chemical bath deposition (CBD) method. SEM results show that the as-deposited NiO film is constructed by many interconnected nanoflakes with a thickness of about 20 nm. The electrochromic properties of the NiO film were investigated in a nonaqueous LiClO4–PC electrolyte by means of optical transmittance, cyclic voltammetry (CV) and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) measurements. The NiO film exhibits a noticeable electrochromic performance with a variation of transmittance up to 38.6% at 550 nm. The CV and EIS measurements reveal that the NiO film has high electrochemical reaction activity and reversibility due to its highly porous structure. The electrochromic (EC) window based on complementary WO3/NiO structure shows an optical modulation of 83.7% at 550 nm, much higher than that of single WO3 film (65.5% at 550 nm). The response time of the EC widow is found to be about 1.76 s for coloration and 1.54 s for bleaching, respectively. These advantages such as large optical modulation, fast switch speed and excellent cycle durability make it attractive for a practical application.

Research highlights
► The highly porous NiO film is constructed by many interconnected nanoflakes.
► The NiO film exhibits good electrochemical kinetics for injection/extraction of Li+ due to its porous structure.
► The NiO film has a noticeable electrochromism related to the annealing temperature.
► The assembled WO3/NiO window shows large optical modulation, fast switch speed and excellent cycle durability.