Electroless plating of Pd nanoparticles on WO3 for gasochromic applications

Today tungsten oxide films have become more interested due to their novel properties suitable for technology and industry applications. One of the most attractive characteristics of this material is the ability of gasochromic switching in the presence of hydrogen gas. This property makes it a desirable candidate for new types of smart windows [1, 2 and 3] and also optical hydrogen sensors [4]. The velocity and performance of the coloring process is determined by rate of surface dissociation and diffusion to inside. These key parameters will be achievable if we have good control on surface and structure characteristics either at deposition of layer or at surface activation by palladium. In this study we have fabricated tungsten oxide thin films with the help of PLD method and the electroless method is also used for overlaying the films’ surface by palladium nanoparticles. We have investigated the mechanism of electroless on tungsten oxide substrates with the help of SEM, AFM and gasochromic switching by hydrogen gas.