Tungsten oxide nanoparticles were synthesized via a sol-gel route using metallic tungsten as precursor, and were printed on a flexible electrode using inkjet printing in order to build solid-state electrochromic cells. Several spectroscopic techniques were used to characterize and compare tungsten oxide particles obtained from different origins. FTIR, Raman and X-ray diffraction spectroscopic measurements showed that the sol-gel synthesis described here produces nanoparticles mainly in an amorphous state with hexagonal crystalline domains and allowed the analysis of the hydration extent of those nanoparticles. The size was measured combining dynamic light scattering, sedimentation, and microscopic techniques (AFM), showing a consistent size of about 200 nm. The tungsten oxide nanoparticles were used to produce an ink formulation for application in inkjet printing. Solid-state electrochromic devices were assembled at room temperature, without sintering the tungsten oxide printed films, showing excellent contrast between on/off states. Electrochemical characterization of those films is described using cyclic voltammetry. The devices were then tested through spectroelectrochemistry by Visible/NIR absorption spectroscopy (400-2200 nm range), showing a dual spectroscopic response depending on the applied voltage. This phenomenon is attributed to the presence of two different crystalline states in accordance with results obtained from the spectroscopic characterization of the nanoparticles. The electrochromic cells had a good cycling stability showing high reversibility and a cyclability up to more than 50,000 cycles with a degradation of 25%.

We present a new concept for the design of a polymeric conducting material that combines the chemical versatility of an organic salt (ionic liquid) with the morphological versatility of a biopolymer (gelatin); the resulting 'ion jelly' can be applied in electrochemical devices, such as batteries, fuel cells, electrochromic windows or photovoltaic cells.

Vanadium oxide gel was synthesized and formulated for the assembly of solid-state electrochromic cells on flexible and transparent electrodes using inkjet printing. FTIR, Raman, and X-ray diffraction spectroscopic measurements showed that the vanadium oxide gel here synthesized consisted of V(2)O(5)·6H(2)O, microstructures similar to orthorhombic V(2)O(5), while Raman spectroscopy also shows the presence of amorphous domains. Atomic force microscopy (AFM) images of the thin films printed using an inkjet shows a ribbonlike structure, which is in accordance with previous results of the vanadium oxide gels in solution. Solid-state electrochromic devices were assembled at room temperature using the inkjet printed films, without any sinterization step. The electrochemical properties of the vanadium oxide gel were characterized by cyclic voltammetry and spectroelectrochemistry by visible/NIR absorption spectroscopy (in both liquid and solid-state). Several redox steps are observed, which gives rise to a variety of color transitions as a function of the applied voltage. The different optical properties of the vanadium oxide gel are assigned to different intercalation steps of Li(+), leading to different crystalline phases of the gel. The final result is a solid-state electrochromic cell showing excellent contrast between the redox states, giving rise to colors such as yellow, green, or blue. Color space analysis was used to characterize the electrochromic transitions, and while absorption spectra showed rather long switching times (up to 100 s), in L*a*b* color space coordinates, the switching time is smaller than 30 s. These electrochromic cells also have an excellent cycling stability showing high reversibility and a cyclability up to more than 30,000 cycles with a degradation of 18%.

This study reports a novel green chemistry approach to assemble copper-nanowires/reduced-graphene-oxide hybrid coatings onto inorganic and organic supports. Such films are robust and combine sheet resistances (<30 Ω sq ) and transparencies in the visible region (transmittance > 70%) that are rivalling those of indium-tin oxide. These electrodes are suitable for flexible electronic applications as they show a sheet resistance change of <4% after 10 000 bending cycles at a bending radius of 1.0 cm, when supported on polyethylene terephthalate foils. Significantly, the wet-chemistry method involves the preparation of dispersions in environmentally friendly solvents and avoids the use of harmful reagents. Such inks are processed at room temperature on a wide variety of surfaces by spray coating. As a proof-of-concept, this study demonstrates the successful use of such coatings as electrodes in high-performance electrochromic devices. The robustness of the electrodes is demonstrated by performing several tens of thousands of cycles of device operation. These unique conducting coatings hold potential for being exploited as transparent electrodes in numerous optoelectronic applications such as solar cells, light-emitting diodes, and displays.