Smart-window technology

Smart Window - A term used to describe a technologically advanced window system that contains giazing that can change or switch its opticai quaiities when a iow voitage electrical signal is applied to it, or in response to changes in heat or light. 

Electrochromic devices (ECDs) consist of a two-electrode electrochemical cell. They include an ion-conducting liquid or solid electfolyte medium sandwiched between two electrode surfaces coated with organic or inorganic electrochromic materials, chosen for their electrical and optical properties. Their purpose is the generation of a variable-color system that can be changed in a controllable fashion for potential applications as displays, smart windows or in other technologies. 

These examples of electrochromic devices serve to display the breadth of their applicability to any number of systems. Polymeric electrochromics, particularly those based on thiophene and its derivatives, show promise for use in display technologies. The processability of many of these systems makes them specifically suited for large-area applications, such as smart windows, billboards or organic photovoltaic cells (solar cells), which currently suffer from large environmental and practical costs when fabricating large-area devices. 

Mekhilef, S., and Javadi, F.S. (2013) Performance, materials and coating technologies of thermochromic thin films on smart windows. Renew. Sustain. 

In the bulk form, vanadium oxides display different oxidation states and V—O coordination spheres and exhibit a broad variety of electronic, magnetic, and structural properties [96, 97], which make these materials attractive for many industrial applications. Prominent examples range from the area of catalysis, where V-oxides are used as components of important industrial catalysts for oxidation reactions [98] and environment pollution control [99], to optoelectronics, for the construction of light-induced electrical switching devices [100] and smart thermo-chromic windows. In view of the importance of vanadium oxides in different technological applications, the fabrication of this material in nanostructured form is a particularly attractive goal. 

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