Investigation of enhanced electrochromic properties of α-Fe2O3/RGO nanocomposite thin film prepared by electrodeposition

Abstract

The α-Fe2O3/reduced graphene oxide (α-Fe2O3/RGO) nanocomposite thin film was prepared by two steps electrodeposition method on the Fluorine doped Tin Oxide (FTO) coated glass substrate. The α-Fe2O3 and α-Fe2O3/RGO nanocomposite films were characterized by X-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy, and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy. The thickness of the nanocomposite film was measured below 400nm.The electrochromic properties of both α-Fe2O3 and α-Fe2O3/RGO nanocomposite films were studied by cyclic voltammetry, chronoamperometry and UV–Vis spectroscopy with the standard three-electrode configuration. The results showed that the α-Fe2O3/RGO thin film have higher optical modulation, faster switching time and better cycling performance compared with pure α-Fe2O3 film. Furthermore, the combination of reduced graphene oxide into iron oxide film enhanced the optical density (ΔOD) about 18% and raised the coloration efficiency (CE) from 18 to 35cm2C−1, at the wavelength of 640nm. The enhanced electrochromic performance is basically attributed to the incorporation of the RGO into α-Fe2O3 film.