Abstract

Electronically doped metal oxide nanocrystals, such as indium tin oxide (ITO) and aluminum-doped zinc oxide (AZO) exhibit surface plasmon absorption in the near IR (NIR). In addn., chem. strategies have been developed for achieving conducting networks of nanocrystals that were initially passivated by insulating hydrocarbon ligands. Starting with well-controlled colloidal synthesis, we achieve nanoporous films with variable feature size and doping level. We are investigating these films' potential as electrochromic coatings that selectively modulate NIR transmittance while maintaining near unity transparency for visible light, which is of keen interest for energy efficient windows. Positioning a nanocrystal film as the working electrode in an electrochem. cell, the carrier population - and thus the NIR transmittance - responds dynamically to an applied bias. Work is underway to correlate the dynamic spectral response with doping and nanocrystal size variations and, eventually, to optimize the dynamic range of transmittance for solar NIR radiation.

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