A dual-polymer electrochromic device with high coloration efficiency and fast response time: Poly(3,4-(1,4-butylene-(2-ene)dioxy)thiophene)-polyaniline ECD

A new dual-polymer electrochromic device (ECD) composed of poly(3,4-(1,4-butylene-(2-ene)dioxy)thiophene) (PBueDOT) and polyaniline (PANI) with a hydrophobic molten salt electrolyte has been developed. To build this system, an alkylenedioxy ring in the BueDOT backbone was expanded to include a strongly electron-donating alkylenedioxy bridge, and the thickness and surface morphology of the corresponding PBueDOT film were controlled systematically. Not only the dual-electrochromic-polymer-electrode system, but also the expanded alkylenedioxy ring in the BueDOT backbone, synergistically improved the electrochromic performance. From the coloration efficiency (CE) value calculations, we found that the CE was enhanced up to 930 cm² C ^-1. Furthermore, these ECDs showed an extremely fast response time of less than 80 ms.