Long-term stability electrochromic electrodes based on porous tungsten trioxide and nickel oxide films via a facile triple pulse electrodeposition

Herein, a facile triple pulse electrodeposition was used to fabricate porous films such as tungsten trioxide (WO3) and nickel oxide (NiO) on indium tin oxide (ITO) substrates. These porous films outperformed corresponding compact films formed by continuous electrodeposition in terms of long-term stability. The maximum transmittance modulation of P-WO3 and P–NiO films were 57.0% and 52.1%, respectively, and changed insignificantly after 10,000 cycles, whereas C-WO3 and C–NiO films were degraded after 2500 and 1000 cycles, respectively. Not only does the porous morphology increases the electrochemical active surface area, but it also provides an efficient pathway for ion diffusion and charge transfer, resulting in fast kinetics, low resistance, high electro-activity, and excellent ion reversibility. This work will hopefully inspire more researchers to improve electrodeposition film fabrication and promote electrochromic device industrialization.