Synthesis of cesium tungsten bronze by a solution-based chemical route and the NIR shielding properties of cesium tungsten bronze thin films

Abstract

In this study, hexagonal Cs0.32WO3 powders were synthesized by a simple solution-based chemical route. The experiment can be performed within a relatively short time and can easily produce large amounts of hexagonal Cs0.32WO3 powders. The CsxWO3 powders as synthesized and after heat treatment were characterized by X-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy, differential thermal and thermogravimetric analysis and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy. CsxWO3 thin films were deposited by an electron beam evaporation method from sintered Cs0.32WO3 powders as the targets. The CsxWO3 films were annealed at different temperatures under Ar and Ar/H2 atmospheres. The effects of annealing on the microstructure, morphology and near-infrared (NIR) shielding properties of the Cs0.32WO3 films are discussed. The results show that the Cs0.32WO3 thin film specimen annealed for 500 °C in an Ar/H2 atmosphere has the highest transmittance (80%) in the visible light region and the lowest transmittance (42%) in the NIR region.