Abstract
Monoclinic vanadium(IV) oxide (VO2) has been widely studied for energy-efficient glazing applications because of its thermochromic properties, displaying a large change in transmission of near-IR wavelengths between the hot and cold states. The optimization of the reaction between VCl4 and ethyl acetate via atmospheric-pressure chemical vapor deposition (APCVD) was shown to produce thin films of monoclinic VO2 with excellent thermochromic properties (ΔTsol = 12%). The tailoring of the thermochromic and visible light transmission was shown to be possible by altering the density and morphology of the deposited films. The films were characterized by X-ray diffraction, atomic-force microscopy, scanning electron microscopy, ellipsometry, and UV–vis spectrometry. This article provides useful design rules for the synthesis of high-quality VO2 thin films by APCVD.
Highlights
Climate change is one of the major challenges for humankind to overcome in the near future
In March 2016, it was approximately 1.5 °C above the preindustrial era average temperature.[3]. This correlates with the increase of the total anthropogenic greenhouse gas emissions, which has risen by 61% during the same period.[4]
Monoclinic VO2 thin films were deposited onto floating glass substrates via atmospheric-pressure chemical vapor deposition (APCVD) from the reaction between VCl4 and ethyl acetate (EtAc)
Summary
Climate change is one of the major challenges for humankind to overcome in the near future. Thermochromic thin films are an example of one such intelligent coating and can play an important role in the area of energy-efficient glazing They display a reversible change in near-infrared (NIR) reflectivity in response to temperature.[6]. Films with a high density can show better ΔTsol because of a higher electron mobility and present fewer defects, resulting in a decrease of incident light scattering and a higher Tlum.[16] Both the growth rate and film density may be influenced by having a fine control over the temperature and flow rate of the precursors in APCVD This is achievable when using highly volatile precursors, and their selection is crucial for a high performance of thermochromic coatings. VOCl3 has been shown to Received: January 12, 2017 Accepted: February 17, 2017 Published: March 20, 2017
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Free) 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a call
