Tungsten oxide (WO 3 ) electrochromic devices have attracted a lot of interest in the energy conservation field and have shown a preliminary application potential in the market. However, it is difficult to quantitatively direct experiments with the existing electrochromic theoretical models, which can restrict the further development of electrochromism. Here, an electrochromic physical simulation model of WO 3 films was built to solve the above problem. Experimentally, the actual electrochromic kinetics of WO 3 in the LiClO 4 /propylene carbonate electrolyte was determined as a continuous electron-transfer process by cyclic voltammetry measurement and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy analysis. Theoretically, the continuous electron-transfer process, Li + -ion diffusion process, and the transmittance change process were described by a modified Butler−Volmer equation, Fick's law, and charge versus coloration efficiency/bleaching efficiency coupling equation, respectively. The comparisons between theoretical and experimental data were conducted to verify this model. The shape of the simulated current curves was basically consistent with that of experiments. Besides, the difference of transmittance between the simulation and experiments was less than 8%. The difference between theory and experiment was attributed to the influence of the electric double layer and the actual reaction interface. The success of the simulation was attributed to the accurate description of the electrochromic process by continuous electron-transfer kinetics. This model can be applied in the research of electrochromic mechanisms, experimental result prediction, and novel device development due to its clear physical nature.

Tungsten trioxide (WO3) is a wide band gap semiconductor material, which is commonly not only used, but also investigated as a significant electrochromic layer in electrochromic devices. WO3 films have been prepared by inorganic and sol-gel free ammonium tungstate ((NH4)2WO4), with the modification of glycerol using the spin coating technique. The surface tension, the contact angle and the dynamic viscosity of the precursor solutions demonstrated that the sample solution with a 25% volume fraction of glycerol was optimal, which was equipped to facilitate the growth of WO3 films. The thermal gravimetric and differential scanning calorimetry (TG-DSC) analysis represented that the optimal sample solution transformed into the WO3 range from 220 °C to 300 °C, and the transformation of the phase structure of WO3 was taken above 300 °C. Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR) spectra analysis indicated that the composition within the film was WO3 above the 300 °C annealing temperature, and the component content of WO3 was increased with the increase in the annealing temperature. The X-ray diffraction (XRD) pattern revealed that WO3 films were available for the formation of the cubic and monoclinic crystal structure at 400 °C, and were preferential for growing monoclinic WO3 when annealed at 500 °C. Atomic force microscope (AFM) images showed that WO3 films prepared using ammonium tungstate with modification of the glycerol possessed less rough surface roughness in comparison with the sol-gel-prepared films. An ultraviolet spectrophotometer (UV) demonstrated that the sample solution which had been annealed at 400 °C obtained a high electrochromic modulation ability roughly 40% at 700 nm wavelength, as well as the optical band gap (Eg) of the WO3 films ranged from 3.48 eV to 3.37 eV with the annealing temperature increasing.

Tungsten trioxide (WO3) is used to prepare the important electrochromic layer of the electrochromic device as a wide bandgap semiconductor material. In this study, WO3 electrochromic film was successfully prepared by screen printing. To modify the thixotropy and wettability of the ink, polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) and 2-perfluoroalkyl ethanol (FSO) were added in the ammonium meta-tungstate (AMT) solution. We found that the PVA additive could improve the dynamic viscosity of the solution and modify the uniformity of the film. 2-Perfluoroalkyl ethanol (FSO) could lower the surface tension and increase the wettability of the AMT solution on the substrate. By observing the morphology of the printed films, the ink formulas for screen printing were selected. We found the annealing process could help remove PVA. Through characterization of electrochromic performance, it was found that the best performing device had 42.57% modulation and 93.25 cm2·C−1 coloration efficiency (CE) for 600 nm light. This study showed great potential in the preparation of WO3 electrochromic devices by a low-cost screen-printing method.

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