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Atomic Layer Deposition of Vanadium Dioxide and a Temperature-dependent Optical Model
Published on: May 23, 2018
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Electrochemically Induced Transformations of Vanadium Dioxide Nanocrystals.
Clayton J Dahlman1, Gabriel LeBlanc1, Amy Bergerud1,2
1McKetta Department of Chemical Engineering, The University of Texas at Austin , Austin, Texas 78712, United States.
Nano Letters
|October 1, 2016
Summary
Vanadium dioxide (VO2) films show a reversible insulator-metal-insulator transition when electrochemically reduced. This behavior, driven by oxygen vacancies in mesoporous nanocrystals, offers new possibilities for VO2 applications.
Area of Science:
- Materials Science
- Nanotechnology
- Solid-State Physics
Background:
- Vanadium dioxide (VO2) exhibits phase transitions with significant optical and electronic property changes.
- Electrochemical gating is an emerging method to control VO2 insulator-to-metal transitions.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the electrochemical reduction of mesoporous VO2 nanocrystal films.
- To explore the resulting optical, electronic, and structural transformations.
Main Methods:
- Colloidal synthesis of V2O3 nanocrystals followed by oxidative annealing to form VO2.
- Preparation of mesoporous VO2 films.
- In situ spectroelectrochemistry, X-ray absorption spectroscopy, X-ray diffraction, Raman spectroscopy, and conductivity measurements.
Main Results:
- Reversible transition between infrared-transparent insulating and darkened metallic phases observed.
- Unexpected insulator-metal-insulator transition upon further electrochemical reduction.
- Mesoporous structure facilitates oxygen vacancy formation and diffusion.
Conclusions:
- Mesoporous VO2 nanocrystal films exhibit unique electrochemical switching behavior.
- The observed insulator-metal-insulator transition is attributed to enhanced oxygen vacancy dynamics.
- This study expands the understanding of VO2 phase transitions and their control via electrochemical methods.
