Synthesis and electrochromic application of surfactants tailored WO3 nanostructures

Abstract As WO 3 is excellent material for electrochromic displays more investigation is needed to find the good and low cost method for preparation of WO 3 nanostructures with uniform morphology and narrow distributions using a surfactant mediated method. In this study, the synthesis of WO 3 nanostructures was accomplished using various surfactants such as polyethylene glycol, sodium chloride and sodium dodecyl sulfate and sodium tungstate and diethyl sulfate as the inorganic precursors. All samples were characterized for their opto-structural and morphological studies by UV–Vis spectrophotometer, X-ray diffractometer and scanning electron microscopy techniques. The electrochromic performance of these samples was studied in LiClO 4 /PC as electrolyte for Li + insertion/extraction. The use of surfactants has been employed to enhance the uniformity of WO 3 samples.