Metal oxide materials for energy efficiency and energy conversion

This work investigates two metal oxide materials, nickel oxide (NiO) and tungsten oxide (WO3). These materials exhibit unique electrochemical properties and are often used in energy saving and energy storage applications such as electrochromic windows, photoelectrochemical water-splitting, and batteries.;The electrochromic properties of lithiated Ni-W oxide films made by radio frequency magnetron co-sputtering from Li2O and NiO targets have been studied with an emphasis on improving transmission in the clear state. The use of tungsten oxide (WO3) nanomaterials made by hot-wire chemical vapor deposition for flexible electrochromic or "smart" windows is explored. Cycling durability of electrochromic WO3 nanomaterial films on exible substrates for electrochromic devices is demonstrated. Additionally WO3 nanoparticles are studied for their photoelectrochemical water-splitting capabilities. Improvements to photocatalytic characteristics of WO3 nanomaterials are detailed.