Hydrothermal deposition and the photochromic properties of molybdenum oxide hydrate (MoO3⋅(H2O)0.69) films induced by D, L-malic acid

The molybdenum oxide hydrate (MoO3⋅(H2O)0.69) films were synthetized through a hydrothermal route with or without the D, L-malic acid as capping agent. The SEM images indicate that the films obtained without D, L-malic acid show the hexagonal prismatic structures while the films prepared with the capping agent reveal the dandelion-like hierarchical structures, and all the films have double-layer structures. Compared with the films synthetized without the D, L-malic acid, the films prepared with the capping agent show a superior photochromic properties. And the more complete the dandelion-like structures, the better performance the films possess. The best performance appeared when the film was prepared with molar ratio of D, L-malic acid and sodium molybdate at 1:5. The enhanced photochromic performances of the films may be ascribed to the dandelion-like hierarchical structures which can provide large exposed surface and ultimately, increase the amount of the photogenerated electron–hole pairs and the proton diffusion rates.