Tailored Remote Photochromic Coloration of in situ Synthesized CdS Quantum Dot Loaded WO3 Films

Authors:
Publisher website
Google Scholar
Abstract
CdS quantum dot (QD) loaded WO3 films, fabricated by screen printing and short‐time chemical bath deposition (CBD) techniques, have been proven to have an efficient visible‐light‐driven photochromic response. One of the striking features of such a photochromic system is its remote photochromic characteristic. The photogenerated electrons in CdS are injected into WO3 to cause the color change of WO3, while CdS does not show any photochromism. Compared to bare WO3 films, the spectral sensitivity of remote photochromism in the CdS QD loaded WO3 films is red‐shifted. The onset wavelength for remote, the decoloration time for CdS QD loaded WO3 films was found to be significantly shorter than that for bare WO3 films, probably due to their different electron trapping processes. Bandgap excitation in bare WO3 creates deeply trapped electrons in the bulk, whereas the electrons injected from the QDs are trapped at shallow surface states in the remote photochromic system. The successful tailoring of photochromic coloration employing a simple procedure would provide numerous opportunities for designing photo‐ and electrochromic materials with the optimal architecture and tunable properties.

This publication has 22 references indexed in Scilit: