Preparation and Characterization of Self-Supporting Thermochromic Films Composed of VO2(M)@SiO2 Nanofibers

Nanofibers of VO2(A) with the diameter and length averagely at 100 nm and 10–20 μm were prepared via a facile one-step hydrothermal method by reducing NH4VO3 with 1,3-propylene glycol in an acidic solution. The obtained VO2(A) was coated by SiO2 to form VO2(A)@SiO2 core–shell nanocomposites, which were then transformed into VO2(M)@SiO2 by annealing under nitrogen atmosphere. The resulted composites maintained the original fibrous morphology, particularly with a large amount of pores emerging inside the fiber due to the volume shrinkage during the phase transition, which may improve its thermal insulation ability in real applications. The VO2(M)@SiO2 nanofibers were arranged into a self-supporting film by filtration, which shows excellent thermochromic properties.