Electrochromic Inverse Opals

for Smart Windows with Static and Dynamic Optical

Transmittance

Christian Lau
Mentors: Julia Greer and Victoria Chernow

Electrochromic Smart Windows

TiO2 + xLi+ + xe-

LixTiO2

Granqvist, Thin Solid Films, 2014

SageGlass Smart Window

Siemens Wind Turbine Facility. Hutchinson, Kansas

Heat Transfer into Buildings

Spectral radiation on Earths surface

30-40% of energy consumption

Infrared light a significant source
of blackbody radiation

Visible and
UV range

Near-IR range

Spectra from the American Society for Testing and Materials

Incorporating Photonic Crystals into Smart

Windows
Photonic Crystal:
a low-loss periodic dielectric medium with photonic bandgaps, preventing light from
propagating in certain directions with specified frequencies (Joannopoulos et al. 2008).

Various methods reported for TiO2 inverse opal fabrication via sol-gel coating
with tunable photonic bandgaps

Kim et al., Nature Asia Materials, 2011

Evaporative Self Assembly

Solvent evaporation at contact line
causes convective flow into meniscus
Capillary attraction between spheres
causes aggregation

500 nm

Born et al., Langmuir, 2011

Smart Window Design

TiO2 Inverse Opals

+ + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + +

Static photonic bandgap in the near-IR

Dynamic electrochromism in the
visible range

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Soda Lime Glass

Electrolyte (LiClO4 in PC)

Sealant Glue

Transparent conducting oxide (ITO)

Fabrication Scheme
Substrate Surface
Modification

Evaporative Self
Assembly of
Opal Template

Hatton et al., PNAS, 2010

Calcination to Form
Inverse Opal Array
and Conversion of
TiBALDH to TiO2

Lu et al., Nanoscale, 2014

Surface Modification: Titania Deposition

Deposit 5nm layer of Ti by ebeam evaporation

ITO

Treat with oxygen plasma and

thermally oxidize Ti at 450 C

Ti layer

Superhydrophilic TiO2
OH OH OH OH

Soda-lime glass

OH

Surface Modification
Soda-lime glass

Soda-lime glass

ITO

Effect of Surface Modification

Superhydrophilic TiO2

ITO
OH OH OH OH

Soda-lime glass

OH

Vertical Evaporative Deposition

Sol-Gel Composition:
Hatton et al., PNAS, 2010

0.14 mL 10% TiBALDH

+ trace EtOH
+ 1.0 mL polystyrene sphere stock solution (2.5 vol%
in water)
+ 20 mL DI-Water

Vertical Evaporative Deposition

Curved regions of
meniscus deposit
more uniformly than
center region

Calcination/Baking Step
Heat sample to 400 C
Surface cracks widen at high
temperatures

400 C

Lu et al., Nanoscale, 2014

400 C

Chemical Composition and Molecular

Structure of Titania Inverse Opals
Rutile Titania

Anatase Titania

Literature raman spectrum taken from RRUFF database

(RRUFFID: R070582)

Images by Kinsinger et al., Crystal Growth and Design, 2010

Conclusions
Factors affecting inverse opal fabrication
Substrate polarity
Deposition method (vertical deposition)
Cracking during baking

Sol Gel methods are promising for fabricating titania inverse opal
arrays with the optimal crystal phase

Future Work
Scalable doctor blade
coating of opal template
Device fabrication and
electrochemical tests

Yang and Jiang,

Langmuir, 2010
Chen et al. ,ACS Nano, 2012

Acknowledgements
Vicitoria Chernow and Dr. Greer
Greer Group SURFs
Greer Group Grad Students
Student-Faculty Programs