You can use silanization procedure, i.e. treatment of the substrate surface by alkoxysilane bearing a hydrophilic functional group (like amino, carboxy etc). However, this coverage is generally prone to hydrolysis and can influence the electrone transfer from electrode to the electrochromic layer.
Unfortunately, I suppose, It is not suitable for electrochromic purposes. This treatment will lead to interfacial resistance increasing, last one is no good for electrochromic devices. But thanks for an idea.
UV/Ozone is a common treatment to clean ITO and make it more hydrophilic. You could also try plasma cleaning.
All following treatments are used for cleaning to ITO electrode. But I didnt investigate which one is used for more hydrophilize surface.
The treatment 1: ultrasonication in isopropyl alcohol
The treatment 2: dipping in 1 M HCl for 10 min.11
The treatment 3: dipping in a solution of 1:1:5 (v/v) H2O2 (30%)/NH4OH (30%)/ water for 1 h at 70 °C.12-16
The treatment 4: the treatment 2 followed by the treatment 3
The treatment 5: ultrasonication in a methanolic solution of 0.5 M K2CO3 for 30 min
The treatment 6: dipping in a solution of 1:1:5 (v/v) H2O2(30%)/NH4OH (30%)/water for 1.5 h at 70 °C after sequential ultrasonication in trichloroethylene, ethanol, and water for 15 min
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