Recent advances of chemical vapor deposited thermochromic vanadium dioxide materials
E. Koudoumas, Top Khac Le, Dimitra Vernardou
Abstract
Thermochromic materials have gained significant attention for their potential in smart windows, as they can change color in response to infrared transmission. Chemical vapor deposition has emerged as powerful tool for their fabrication, offering precise control over the composition, thickness and crystallinity. This review provides an overview of vanadium dioxide highlighting its unique properties, potential applications and growth routes. Strategies required for the development and commercialization of vanadium dioxide are highlighted to promote broader market availability and affordability. It also explores advancements in precursor selection, deposition conditions, growth routes and substrate engineering to achieve precise control over the morphology, crystallinity and transition temperatures. Additionally, the future prospects of chemical vapor deposited vanadium dioxide are addressed, focusing on the development of flexible thermochromic materials for the instant application on existing windows, the use of sandwich structures (such as chromium oxide/vanadium dioxide/silicon dioxide) due to their environmental stability and energy-efficient properties and the core-shell structures for the enhanced material stability and energy efficiency. These advancements hold great promise for the future development of vanadium dioxide materials through chemical vapor deposition routes, opening up possibilities for their widespread application in the industry.