Materials And Devices In Electrochromic Window Development

Windows with switchable electrochromic glazings are potentially useful for regulating solar input to building interiors. In this article, we describe the structure and operation of a proposed solid-state electrochromic glazing based on crystalline LixWO3 (c-LiXWO3) and a low coloration efficiency counter electrode material such as amorphous Nb2O5 (a-Nb2O5). The importance of reversibility in electrochromic glazing operation is emphasized, and optical switching experiments that demonstrate reversible lithium insertion/extraction in c-LixW03, a-LixWO3, and a-LixNb2O5 are described. Additional optical switching experiments in tandem electrochromic cells comprised of c-LixWO3/a-Nb2O5 and a-LixWO3/a-Nb2O5 demonstrated the proposed design, indicating reversible optical switching over 500 and 200 complete cycles, respectively, without degradation. Optical data on the evolution of reflective and absorp-tive modulation in c-LixWO3 are presented and solar attenuation results are used to demon-strate the advantage of using crystalline electrochromics to conserve daylighting during electrochromic window operation.