Characterization of Indium Oxide for the Use as a Counter-Electrode in an Electrochromic Device

Abstract

AbstractThin films of indium oxide, In2O3 (4000 Å), deposited on commercially available In2O3: Sn (ITO)/glass by rf sputtering, have been examined for potential application as a counter-electrode material in an electrochromic device, based on their chemical, structural, and optical properties. Cyclic voltammetry experiments showed that mobile lithium ions can be inserted (chemical reduction) and removed (chemical oxidation) from the host structure of indium oxide. Coulometric titrations showed that the films exhibited a hysteresis behavior for the injection and removal of lithium ions in LixIn2O3 (x=0-0.23). Structural investigation of the indium oxide films, utilizing electron diffraction techniques, indicated that they were crystalline with a crystallite size of 175 Å, in agreement with x-ray diffraction results. Differences in optical transmission between the lithiated and delithiated thin films were no more than 5% in the visible/near-infrared regions of the spectrum.