During materials engineering, a network of tiny holes
or pores can improve the energy storage capacity of materials for
applications as smart windows. Smart windows are platforms whose
light transmission properties can be altered when light, voltage or
heat is applied. Scientists can control the fraction of light
passing through the material using an electrical voltage to
electrically switch from transparent to opaque materials during
charge transfer. While this feature is associated with storage and
release of energy, the same materials can be used for energy
storage as well. In a new report, Jeon-Woo Kim and a team of
scientists at the Pohang University of Science and Technology in
South Korea developed and improved electrochromic supercapacitors
made from tungsten trioxide (WO3). They used an evaporation-induced
self-assembly process to deposit a film of tungsten trioxide with
pores, where the porous architecture increased the speed of
switching and capacitance in the material compared to conventional
tungsten trioxide thin films. The work is now published on Nature
Asia Materials.
