In this paper we report the electrochemical and optical characterization of a novel kind of vanadium pentoxide thin film electrode (sc-V 2O 5 XRG) produced by spin coating the hydrous gel onto ITO coated glass substrates. The thin film electrode is used in an all solid state optical switching device along with tungsten oxide as the primary electrochromic material and a highly conductive gel electrolyte. The enhanced electrical and optical responses of the device indicate that sc-V 2O 5 XRG can be successfully used as an optically passive counter electrode in electrochromic devices.