Tungsten-oxide/polypyrrole film for hybrid solid-state electrochromic smart window

Abstract

An organic–inorganic hybrid electrochromic device was fabricated by combining the films of hydrothermally synthesized tungsten oxide (WO3) with electrodeposited polypyrrole. Before making a device, these deposited thin films were characterized using scanning electron microscopy, infrared spectroscopy, and Raman spectroscopy techniques. Thereafter, a solid-state organic–inorganic electrochromic device was fabricated, which shows reversible switching between coloration and bleaching states with a very small external bias voltage (±1 V) and excellent cyclic stability up to 500 s with a negligible amount of transmission loss. In situ electrochemical studies show that the device has enhanced switching speed (1.1/1.8 s), and optical contrast of more than 47% at the wavelength of 650 nm. Furthermore, the optimized electrochromic device displays enhanced coloration efficiency up to ∼304 cm2/C. All these results open a new door for increasing the performance of a single-layered device by combining it with complementary electrodes.