A complementary electrochromic system based on Prussian blue and indium hexacyanoferrate

Abstract

A new complementary electrochromic device (ECD) based on Prussian blue (PB), indium hexacyanoferrate (InHCF), and KCl-saturated poly(2-acrylamido-2-methylpropanesulfonic acid) (K-PAMPS) was proposed and studied in this work. This novel PB-InHCF ECD (PIECD) exhibits blue-to-yellowish electrochromism with a high coloration efficiency of ca. 103 cm2/C at 690 nm. Although the operating voltages for the fully bleached and fully colored states were determined to be 1.2 V and 0 V (InHCF vs. PB), respectively, the major transmittance modulation occurs within a much narrower voltage window (0.9 V↔0.5 V). That is, the PIECD is energetically favorable. Furthermore, it is unnecessary to precolor either electrochromic (EC) electrode during the cell assembly so that the charge balance between two electrochromic films becomes much easier. In addition to the above performance, the compatibility between the K-PAMPS electrolyte and EC electrodes was also demonstrated. In short, this work proposes another promising PB-based ECD and provides a new choice in the EC field.