Enhanced photochromic modulation efficiency: a novel plasmonic molybdenum oxide hybrid

Abstract

Plasmonic materials have drawn emerging interest with their high charge carrier density and solar harvesting ability, resulting in tunable enhanced absorption and scattering resonances. Herein, a novel plasmonic MoO_3−x hybrid comprising orthorhombic MoO_3−x nanorod and hexagonal MoO₃ nanograin was obtained using a simple hydrothermal method. An excellent photochromic property with up to 40% solar modulation efficiency at 600–1000 nm was achieved, which was mainly attributed to the localized surface plasmon resonance (LSPR) absorption at around 900 nm and the polaron absorption at 650 nm with a synergistic effect. In comparison to the limited near-infrared absorption of conventional crystalline MoO₃, a distinct modulation range in the critical range between visible and near-infrared was rationalized by a size effect deduced from Mie scattering theory. Our research provided a novel plasmonic molybdenum oxide hybrid to realize an optical modulation function with a tunable wavelength range for energy saving.