Infrared optical modulation characteristics of W-doped VO2(M) nanoparticles in the MWIR and LWIR regions

Vanadium dioxide (VO 2 ) is a remarkable thermochromic material for application in adaptive infrared camouflage due to the reversible phase transition that is coupled with an abrupt change in infrared optical properties . However, the relatively high phase transition temperature and the unclear infrared optical modulation characteristics in the mid-infrared and far-infrared regions largely restrict its practical applications. Here, W-doped VO 2 nanoparticles were successfully prepared to reduce the transition temperature. When the effective doping amount of W was 1.70%, the transition temperature decreased to 43.2 °C. Importantly, the infrared properties of W-doped VO 2 nanoparticles were studied in both MWIR (3–5 μm) and LWIR (8–14 μm) thermal atmospheric windows, for the first time, which exhibited significant infrared optical changes, with emissivity variation of Δε = 0.17 and Δε = 0.28, respectively. These favorable results further promote the development of the adaptive camouflage.