Journal of Electroanalytical Chemistry, Vol.799, 206-212, 2017
Investigation of enhanced electrochromic properties of alpha-Fe2O3/RGO nanocomposite thin film prepared by electrodeposition
The alpha-Fe2O3/reduced graphene oxide (alpha-Fe2O3/RGO) nanocomposite thin film was prepared by two steps electrodeposition method on the Fluorine doped Tin Oxide (FTO) coated glass substrate. The alpha-Fe2O3 and alpha-Fe2O3/RGO nanocomposite films were characterized by X-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy, and Xray photoelectron spectroscopy. The thickness of the nanocomposite film was measured below 400 nm. The electrochromic properties of both alpha-Fe2O3 and alpha-Fe2O3/RGO nanocomposite films were studied by cyclic voltammetry, chronoamperometry and UV-Vis spectroscopy with the standard three-electrode configuration. The results showed that the alpha-Fe2O3/RGO thin film have higher optical modulation, faster switching time and better cycling performance compared with pure alpha-Fe2O3 film. Furthermore, the combination of reduced graphene oxide into iron oxide film enhanced the optical density (Delta OD) about 18% and raised the coloration efficiency (CE) from 18 to 35 cm(2) C-1, at the wavelength of 640 nm. The enhanced electrochromic performance is basically attributed to the incorporation of the RGO into alpha-Fe2O3 film.