Plasmon-induced near-infrared electrochromism based on transparent conducting nanoparticles: Approximate performance limits

Electrochromism can be induced in electrochemically post-treated nanoparticles of wide band gap transparent conductors. We model this recently observed phenomenon by effective medium theory applied to nanoparticles of In2O3:Sn, which are represented as a free-electron plasma with tin ions screened according to the random phase approximation corrected for electron exchange. This semi-quantitative theory is used to derive approximate performance limits showing that high luminous transmittance (e.g., 60%) can be combined with efficient absorption of solar energy and concomitant low solar transmittance (∼34%), thereby documenting that plasmonic electrochromism is of interest for energy efficient fenestration.