Optical and kinetic properties of cathodically deposited amorphous tungsten oxide films

Abstract Optical properties and the coloration–decoloration kinetics of electrochromic films of amorphous tungsten oxide (a-WO3), produced by cathodic deposition from a sodium tungstate based aqueous peroxide electrolyte, have been investigated. As films color in 1 N H2SO4, sequential appearance of bands with maxima at ∼1 eV, 1.6 eV, 2 eV, and 2.4 eV is observed in their optical absorption and electrosorption spectra, is the same as in the case of reduction of nanosized hydrated-WO3 colloids with a gradual decrease in their size to that of 12-tungsten polyanions with Keggin structure, indicating the presence of such polytungstates in cathodically deposited a-WO3, too. When polytungstate is reduced by one electron, an absorption band with a maximum at ∼1.6 eV appears in the optical spectrum of the film. This band corresponds to the optical excitation of charge transfer of the W5+ → W6+ type between two adjacent tungsten atoms. The reduction of polytungstate by a second electron with potential shift towards more negative values is accompanied by the appearance of an analogous band with a maximum at ∼2 eV. The reduction of such polytungstates involves participation of the bulk of injected electrons, indicating their dominate role in the nanostructure of the films investigated. The effective co-diffusion coefficient of electrons and protons in cathodically deposited a-WO3 exhibits a potential dependence with a maximum at 0.1 V against a silver-chloride electrode, where its value is ∼10−8 cm2/s. It has been shown that the decrease in this coefficient at potential values of over 0.1 V is caused by a decrease in electron mobility.