Issue 8, 2019

Physical vapour deposition of vanadium dioxide for thermochromic smart window applications

Abstract

Smart windows are defined by their ability to regulate incoming solar radiation in order to reduce the energy consumption of buildings by modulating the heat intake. Vanadium dioxide (VO2) is one of the most promising potential candidates for smart window materials due to its ability to reversibly transit from monoclinic VO2 (M) to rutile VO2 (R) at near room temperature. As a result of this transition, the infrared radiation (IR) transparent VO2 (M) abruptly becomes IR opaque, effectively regulating the heat intake by solar radiation. Despite their promising potential, VO2-based smart windows have various significant intrinsic limitations: a high transition temperature (τC) of 68 °C; low luminous transmission (Tlum) of around 40% and low solar modulation (ΔTsol) of less than 25%. Currently, various methods have been used to fabricate VO2 thin films in an attempt to improve their intrinsic properties. One of those methods is physical vapour deposition (PVD). In this paper, various PVD techniques, such as pulsed laser deposition (PLD), evaporation decomposition (ED) and sputtering, are examined with respect to their conditions for VO2 fabrication, film quality and the strategies for film improvements. Lastly, some challenges and opportunities for further studies into VO2-based smart windows are discussed.

Graphical abstract: Physical vapour deposition of vanadium dioxide for thermochromic smart window applications

Article information

Article type
Review Article
Submitted
04 okt. 2018
Accepted
19 des. 2018
First published
20 des. 2018

J. Mater. Chem. C, 2019,7, 2121-2145

Physical vapour deposition of vanadium dioxide for thermochromic smart window applications

T. D. Vu, Z. Chen, X. Zeng, M. Jiang, S. Liu, Y. Gao and Y. Long, J. Mater. Chem. C, 2019, 7, 2121 DOI: 10.1039/C8TC05014G

To request permission to reproduce material from this article, please go to the Copyright Clearance Center request page.

If you are an author contributing to an RSC publication, you do not need to request permission provided correct acknowledgement is given.

If you are the author of this article, you do not need to request permission to reproduce figures and diagrams provided correct acknowledgement is given. If you want to reproduce the whole article in a third-party publication (excluding your thesis/dissertation for which permission is not required) please go to the Copyright Clearance Center request page.

Read more about how to correctly acknowledge RSC content.

Social activity

Spotlight

Advertisements