Thin films were produced by sputtering of metallic Ni in Ar/O-2 and Ar/O-2/
H-2 atmospheres. Systematic studies of these films were carried out in elec
trochromic devices with tungsten oxide and either proton or lithium conduct
ing electrolytes. No major difference was found between devices using nicke
l oxide films made in the presence or absence of hydrogen. A practically im
portant result is that both kinds of nickel films can be laminated in devic
es with tungsten oxide without precycling any of the films in a liquid elec
trolyte. Devices with the used Li+ and H+ conducting electrolytes have simi
lar properties, suggesting that all of them may be relying on proton transp
ort, presumably originating from adsorbed water. From a theoretical point o
f view, attention is drawn to the fact that the tap of the NiO valence band
consists of Ni 3d electron states, in contrast to the O 2p states at hand
for most other electrochromic oxides. The anodic electrochromism of nickel
oxide may be explained by assuming that the 3d electrons can be reversibly
extracted from and inserted into the film without affecting the metal-oxyge
n bonds. (C) 1998 Published by Elsevier Science B.V.. All rights reserved.