TiO2 Film Displays Multicolor Photochromism
Photochromic materials promise applications in data storage, display technology and construction, but individual materials have offered only a monochromatic response. In the January issue of
Nature Materials, a team from the
University of Tokyo,
Japan Science and Technology Corp.,
Kanagawa Academy of Science and Technology and the
University of Yokohama City has reported multicolor photochromism in a TiO
2 film loaded with Ag nanoparticles.
To fabricate the film, the scientists exposed anatase powder and AgNO
3 in ethanol to 12 hours of ultraviolet radiation, spin-coated the suspension onto glass and irradiated the film again for five days. Upon illumination with monochromatic visible light, the film changed from brownish-gray to the color of the light, with the color lasting for more than 1½ days in the dark. Subsequent exposure to UV radiation returned the film to its initial state.
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