FTIR and absorption edge studies on tungsten oxide based precursor materials synthesized by sol–gel technique

Abstract The sol–gel technique has been employed for synthesizing three precursor materials for the deposition of tungsten oxide based electrochromic films. The ion-exchange route yields tungstic acid precursor (ITA) which has a strong tendency to polymerize rapidly. Addition of hydrogen peroxide and/or acetic acid suppresses the gelation process and an ethanol soluble precursor material (AIPTA) possessing a low degree of polymerization and high chemical stability is obtained. Another precursor material APTA endowed with similar desirable characteristics is produced from direct reaction between tungsten metal powder and a mixture of hydrogen peroxide and acetic acid. These materials were characterized by FTIR and absorption edge studies and compared in terms of their degree of polymerization and modes of association of various functionalities with the tungsten metal ion.