Electrochromic materials have been widely used in various parts of life due to their advantages of energy conservation and rich colors. In this work, a series of novel viologen derivatives (tetrasubstituted thienoviologen derivatives, a–f) were designed and synthesized as electrochromic materials by decorating 4,4′,4″,4‴-(thiophene-2,3,4,5-tetrayl)tetrapyridine with different N-substituents (alkyl, benzyl and aryl). Electrochromic devices based on a–f exhibited a low working voltage of −1.4 V. The N-substituents markedly affected their electrochromic performance. The compounds with alkyl and benzyl substituents performed better than the compound with aryl substituent. Among them, compound c with benzyl substituent performed best with a high optical contrast (66 %), a high coloration efficiency (389 cm2/C), good cycling stability, and fast response time. Besides, compound c was also applicable to sodium carboxymethyl cellulose hydrogel ECD with good cycling stability and a broad absorption band (500–700 nm) in the visible region. The applications of compound c in electronic tags, functional displays and smart windows were explored, indicating it's a promising ECM with wide application prospects.
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