Abstract: WO₃ powder was prepared via hydrothermal method with 1-propanol as the organic inducer. The synthesized products were characterized via XRD, SEM, and TEM. Furthermore, photochromic properties were studied via UV-Vis spectrophotometer and color difference meter. The results indicate that the 1-propanol induced product is hexagonal WO₃. Under the SEM and TEM observations, it is found that these WO₃ microspheres look like urchinlike, and comprise many WO₃ nanorods. Moreover, the structure of the induced product provides a better proton diffusion path, thus resulting in its high photochromic properties.

Key words: WO₃ powder, Photochromism, 1-Propanol, Organic inducer