Electrochromic oxides have tremendous potential applications in smart windows, displays, and camouflage due to their capability for selective modulation of visible and near-infrared optical spectra. Although these applications are dependent on the optical performance, the origin of the optical absorption in electrochromic oxides is not clear. Here, we demonstrate that the electrochromism of all amorphous cathodic electrochromic oxides can be described by a combination of polaron and bipolaron hopping. Based on the valences of the metallic constituents, we model experimental optical absorption spectra by polaron theory and assign two prominent absorption peaks to polaronic and bipolaronic charge transfer excitations. However, in the special case of V2O5, three peaks were necessary to fit the optical spectra. The activation energies of polaronic and bipolaronic hopping were remarkably similar for all the cathodic oxides studied. Within the framework of polaron absorption, V2O5 would be categorized as a cathodic oxide, rather than as a mixed anodic/cathodic material as in the conventional picture. We emphasize that our findings here not only offer a profound understanding of all amorphous cathodic electrochromic oxides but also pave the way for exploring electrochromic oxides with dual-band modulations.
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Polaron hopping induced dual-band absorption in all amorphous cathodic electrochromic oxides
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March 2025
Research Article|
January 22 2025
Polaron hopping induced dual-band absorption in all amorphous cathodic electrochromic oxides
Renfu Zhang
;
Renfu Zhang
(Data curation, Formal analysis, Investigation, Methodology, Validation, Visualization, Writing – original draft)
1
Department of Materials Science and Engineering, Southern University of Science and Technology
, Shenzhen 518055, China
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Menghan Yin;
Menghan Yin
(Data curation, Formal analysis, Methodology, Visualization)
1
Department of Materials Science and Engineering, Southern University of Science and Technology
, Shenzhen 518055, China
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Peipei Shao;
Peipei Shao
(Formal analysis, Investigation, Methodology)
1
Department of Materials Science and Engineering, Southern University of Science and Technology
, Shenzhen 518055, China
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Qingjiao Huang;
Qingjiao Huang
(Formal analysis, Software)
1
Department of Materials Science and Engineering, Southern University of Science and Technology
, Shenzhen 518055, China
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Gunnar A. Niklasson
;
Gunnar A. Niklasson
a)
(Conceptualization, Methodology, Software, Writing – review & editing)
2
Department of Materials Science and Engineering, The Ångström Laboratory, Uppsala University
, P. O. Box 35, Uppsala SE-751 03, Sweden
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Rui-Tao Wen
Rui-Tao Wen
a)
(Conceptualization, Formal analysis, Funding acquisition, Investigation, Project administration, Resources, Supervision, Validation, Writing – original draft, Writing – review & editing)
1
Department of Materials Science and Engineering, Southern University of Science and Technology
, Shenzhen 518055, China
3
Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Functional Oxide Materials and Devices, Southern University of Science and Technology
, Shenzhen 518055, China
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Appl. Phys. Rev. 12, 011404 (2025)
Article history
Received:
October 20 2024
Accepted:
December 12 2024
Citation
Renfu Zhang, Menghan Yin, Peipei Shao, Qingjiao Huang, Gunnar A. Niklasson, Rui-Tao Wen; Polaron hopping induced dual-band absorption in all amorphous cathodic electrochromic oxides. Appl. Phys. Rev. 1 March 2025; 12 (1): 011404. https://doi.org/10.1063/5.0244549
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