Characterization and electrochromic properties of CuxNi1 xO films prepared by sol–gel dip-coating

CuxNi1 xO electrochromic thin films were prepared by sol–gel dip coating and characterized by XRD, UV–vis absorption and electrochromic test. XRD results show that the structure of the Cux Ni1 xO thin films is still in cubic NiO structure. UV–vis absorption spectra show that the absorption edges of the CuxNi1 xO films can be tuned from 335 nm (x = 0) to 550 nm (x = 0.3), and the transmittance of the colored films decrease as the content of Cu increases. CuxNi1 xO films show good electrochromic behavior, both the coloring and bleaching time for a Cu0.2Ni0.8O film were less than 1 s, with a variation of transmittance up to 75% at the wavelength of 632.8 nm. 2005 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved