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Advances in Electrochromic Materials and Related Devices
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Advances in Electrochromic Materials and Related Devices

A special issue of Materials (ISSN 1996-1944). This special issue belongs to the section "Materials Physics".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (31 March 2022) | Viewed by 9819

Special Issue Editor

Dr George Leftheriotis

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Physics Department, University of Patras, Patras, Greece
Interests: fabrication and testing of electrochromic windows; photoelectrochromic devices; dye-sensitized solar cells and perovskite solar cells; solar energy applications

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Energy efficiency in buildings has attracted a significant research interest recently, driven by the fact that about 40% of the total energy consumption worldwide is attributed to the building sector. In this context, the idea of a “zero energy building” has emerged that can be served through the dynamic control of thermal loads with the use of “smart” windows. These windows adapt to the prevailing weather conditions in real time, changing their appearance from transparent to opaque in a reversible manner. By appropriate control, they can achieve the rejection of excess solar radiation entering the buildings at noon and adequate insolation during the morning and afternoon hours. Electrochromics comprise the most mature technology of “smart” windows with a considerable potential for energy savings. Indeed, their incorporation in buildings could lead to a decrease of 30% of the total annual energy consumption, a significant step towards the goal for “zero energy buildings”. They have already found their way to the windows market, which constitutes a multibillion $ enterprise.

Apart from the typical electrochromics described above, novel electrochromic materials and technologies have appeared in recent years. These include nanostructured and composite electrochromic materials, the near infrared “plasmonic” electrochromics, and a multitude of electrochromic polymers with different colors or even with multicolor features. Furthermore, new multifunctional devices have emerged, such as the photoelectrochromic hybrids with integrated solar cells that drive the coloration of the smart window and simultaneously harness solar energy, or electrochromics with charge storage capabilities acting as batteries or supercapacitors. Such devices are being researched extensively at the moment and provided they overcome scalability and stability issues, some of them are going to be the “smart” window products of tomorrow.

This Special Issue aims to survey the recent progress in the area of electrochromic materials and their applications. The articles presented in this Special Issue will cover all the relevant topics, ranging from materials preparation and characterization, to device fabrication and testing. This Special Issue will offer a unique glimpse of what has been achieved and what is forthcoming in the field of electrochromics.

The following topics will be covered:

  • Synthesis and characterization of materials used in electrochromic applications:
    • Inorganic electrochromic compounds
    • Nanostructured or composite electrochromic materials
    • Electrochromic polymers
    • Ion storage layers
    • Electrolytes
  • Other chromogenic materials, such as:
    • Thermochromics
    • Gasochromics
  • Fabrication and testing of related devices, such as:
    • Battery type electrochromics
    • Redox type electrochromics
    • Near infrared electrochromics
    • Photoelectrochromics
    • Devices with charge storage capabilities
    • Electrochromic batteries.
  • Other relevant subjects, such as:
    • Theoretical investigations and simulations
    • Electronic controllers (hardware and software)
    • Assessment of performance in real operating conditions

It is my pleasure to invite you to submit review articles, original papers and communications for this Special Issue of "Advances in Electrochromic Materials and Related Devices".

Assoc. Prof. Dr. George Leftheriotis
Guest Editor

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Materials is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2600 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • inorganic electrochromic materials
  • nanostructured electrochromic materials
  • compound electrochromic materials
  • polymer electrochromics
  • electrochromic devices
  • photoelectrochromics
  • NIR electrochromics
  • electrochromic batteries
  • thermochromics
  • gasochromics

Published Papers (3 papers)

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Research

16 pages, 5042 KiB  
Article
Quasi-Solid-State Electrochromic Cells with Energy Storage Properties Made with Inkjet Printing
by Krystallia Theodosiou, Panagiotis Giannopoulos, Tilemachos Georgakopoulos and Elias Stathatos
Materials 2020, 13(14), 3241; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/ma13143241 - 21 Jul 2020
Cited by 8 | Viewed by 2559
Abstract
In common commercially available electrochromic glass panes, the active materials such as WO3 and NiOx films are typically deposited by either physical vapor or sputtering under vacuum. In the present studies, we report on the inkjet printing method to deposit both [...] Read more.
In common commercially available electrochromic glass panes, the active materials such as WO3 and NiOx films are typically deposited by either physical vapor or sputtering under vacuum. In the present studies, we report on the inkjet printing method to deposit both electrochromic and ion storage electrode layers under ambient conditions. An ion storage layer based on cerium modified TiO2 and electrochromic nanocrystalline WO3 were both prepared under the wet method and deposited as inks on conductive substrates. Both compounds possess porous morphology facilitating high ion diffusion during electrochemical processes. In particular, the ion storage layer was evaluated in terms of porosity, charge capacity and ion diffusion coefficient. A scaled up 90 cm2 electrochromic device with quasi-solid-state electrolyte was made with the aforementioned materials and evaluated in terms of optical modulation in the visible region, cyclic voltammetry and color efficiency. High contrast between 13.2% and 71.6% for tinted and bleached states measured at 550 nm was monitored under low bias at +2.5 volt and −0.3 volts respectively. Moreover, the calculated energy density equal to 1.95 × 10−3 mWh cm−2 and the high areal capacitance of 156.19 mF cm−2 of the device could combine the electrochromic behavior of the cell with energy storage capability so as to be a promising candidate for future applications into smart buildings. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advances in Electrochromic Materials and Related Devices)
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16 pages, 4431 KiB  
Article
Photoelectrochromic Devices with Enhanced Power Conversion Efficiency
by Alexandros Dokouzis, Dimitra Zoi and George Leftheriotis
Materials 2020, 13(11), 2565; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/ma13112565 - 04 Jun 2020
Cited by 7 | Viewed by 2038
Abstract
In the present work, we propose a new architecture for partly covered photoelectrochromic devices with a modified anode layout, so that the TiO2 film is deposited first on the substrate, covering a small part of its surface, followed by the WO3 [...] Read more.
In the present work, we propose a new architecture for partly covered photoelectrochromic devices with a modified anode layout, so that the TiO2 film is deposited first on the substrate, covering a small part of its surface, followed by the WO3 film that covers the remaining device area. As a result, the TiO2 film can be subjected to the proper thermal and chemical treatment without affecting the electrochromic performance of the WO3 film. The proposed design led to photoelectrochromic (PEC) devices with a power conversion efficiency (PCE) four times higher than that of typical partly covered devices, with a measured maximum of 4.9%. This, in turn, enabled a reduction in the total area covered by the photovoltaic unit of the devices by four times (to 5% from 20%), thus reducing its visual obstruction, without affecting the depth, uniformity and speed of coloration. A detailed study of the parameters affecting the performance of the new devices revealed that, with the cover ratio decreasing, PCE was increasing. The photocoloration efficiency also exhibited the same trend for cover ratio values below 15%. Storage of the devices in short circuit conditions was found to accelerate optical reversibility without affecting their photovoltaic and optical performance. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advances in Electrochromic Materials and Related Devices)
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12 pages, 2893 KiB  
Article
A Solar-Driven Flexible Electrochromic Supercapacitor
by Danni Zhang, Baolin Sun, Hui Huang, Yongping Gan, Yang Xia, Chu Liang, Wenkui Zhang and Jun Zhang
Materials 2020, 13(5), 1206; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/ma13051206 - 09 Mar 2020
Cited by 37 | Viewed by 4361
Abstract
Solar-driven electrochromic smart windows with energy-storage ability are promising for energy-saving buildings. In this work, a flexible photoelectrochromic device (PECD) was designed for this purpose. The PECD is composed of two flexible transparent conductive layers, a photocatalytic layer, an electrochromic material layer, and [...] Read more.
Solar-driven electrochromic smart windows with energy-storage ability are promising for energy-saving buildings. In this work, a flexible photoelectrochromic device (PECD) was designed for this purpose. The PECD is composed of two flexible transparent conductive layers, a photocatalytic layer, an electrochromic material layer, and a transparent electrolyte layer. The photocatalytic layer is a dye-sensitized TiO2 thick film and the electrochromic layer is a WO3 thin film, which also possesses a supercapacitive property. Under illumination, dye-sensitized TiO2 thick film realizes photo-drive electrochromism that the WO3 changes from colorless to blue with large optical modulation. Meanwhile, the PECD has an electrochemical supercapacitance showing an energy storage property of 21 mF·cm−2 (114.9 F·g−1 vs the mass of WO3), stable mechanical performance and long cycle performance. The PECD can effectively adjust the transmittance of visible and near-infrared light without any external power supply, realizing zero energy consumption, and can convert solar energy into electrical energy for storage. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advances in Electrochromic Materials and Related Devices)
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