Electrochromic devices (ECDs) have been drawing great attention due to their high color contrast, low power consumption, and memory effect, and can be used in smart windows, automatic dimming mirrors, and information display devices. As with other electronic devices such as LEDs (light emitting diodes), solar cells, and transistors, the mechanical flexibility of ECDs is one of the most important issue for their potential applications. In this paper, we report on flexible ECDs (f-ECDs) fabricated using an all-in-one EC gel, which is a mixture of electrolyte and EC material. The f-ECDs are compared with rigid ECDs (r-ECDs) on ITO glass substrate in terms of color contrast, coloration efficiency, and switching speed. It is confirmed that the f-ECDs embedding all-in-one gel show strong blue absorption and have competitive EC performance. Repetitive bending tests show a degradation of electrochromic performance, which must be improved using an optimized device fabrication process.

Recently, electrochromic devices (ECDs) have gathered increasing attention owing to their high color contrast and memory effect, which make them highly applicable to smart windows, auto-dimming mirrors, sensors, etc. Traditional ECDs have a sandwich structure that contains an electrochromic layer between two ITO substrates. These sandwich-type devices are usually fabricated through the lamination of two electrodes and followed by the injection of a liquid electrolyte in the inner space. However, this process is sometimes complex and time consuming. In this study, we fabricated ECDs with a lateral electrode structure that uses only an ITO substrate and an all-in-one electrochromic gel, which is a mixture of electrolyte and electrochromic material. Furthermore, we investigated the EC properties of the lateral-type device by comparing it with a sandwich-type device. The lateral-type ECD shows strong blue absorption as the applied voltage increases and has a competitive coloration efficiency compared to the sandwich-type device.

We report on stretchable electrochromic films of poly(3-hexylthiophene) (P3HT) fabricated on silver nanowire (AgNW) electrodes. AgNWs electrodes are prepared on polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) substrates using a spray coater for stretchable electrochromic applications. On top of the AgNW electrode, poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene):poly(styrene sulfonate) (PEDOT:PSS) is introduced to ensure a stable resistance over the electrode under broad strain range by effectively suppressing the protrusion of AgNWs from PDMS. This bilayer electrode exhibits a high performance as a stretchable substrate in terms of sheet resistance increment by a factor of 1.6, tensile strain change to 40%, and stretching cycles to 100 cycles. Furthermore, P3HT film spin-coated on the bilayer electrode shows a stable electrochromic coloration within an applied voltage, with a color contrast of 28.6%, response time of 4-5 sec, and a coloration efficiency of 91.0 cm2/C. These findings indicate that AgNWs/PEDOT:PSS bilayer on PDMS substrate electrode is highly suitable for transparent and stretchable electrochromic devices.

Tungsten trioxide (WO3) is a promising candidate as a photocatalyst because of its outstanding electrical and optical properties. In this study, we prepare WO3 thin films by electrodeposition and characterize the photocatalytic degradation of methylene blue using these films. Depending on the voltage conditions (static and pulse), compact and porous WO3 films are fabricated on a transparent ITO/glass substrate. The morphology and crystal structure of electrodeposited WO3 thin films are investigated by scanning electron microscopy, atomic force microscopy, and X-ray diffraction. An application of static voltage during electrodeposition yields a compact layer of WO3, whereas a highly porous morphology with nanoflakes is produced by a pulse voltage process. Compared to the compact film, the porous WO3 thin film shows better photocatalytic activities. Furthermore, a much higher reaction rate of degradation of methylene blue can be achieved after post-annealing of WO3 thin films.

In this study, we synthesize tungsten oxide thin films by electrodeposition and characterize their electrochromic properties. Depending on the deposition modes, compact and porous tungsten oxide films are fabricated on a transparent indium tin oxide (ITO) substrate. The morphology and crystal structure of the electrodeposited tungsten oxide thin films are investigated by scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and X-ray diffraction (XRD). X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy is employed to verify the chemical composition and the oxidation state of the films. Compared to the compact tungsten oxides, the porous films show superior electrochemical activities with higher reversibility during electrochemical reactions. Furthermore, they exhibit very high color contrast (97.0%) and switching speed (3.1 and 3.2 s). The outstanding electrochromic performances of the porous tungsten oxide thin films are mainly attributed to the porous structure, which facilitates ion intercalation/deintercalation during electrochemical reactions.

We demonstrate the electrochromic properties of TiO2 nanotubes prepared by an anodization process and investigate the effects of heat treatment and viologen incorporation on them. The morphology and crystal structure of anodized TiO2 nanotubes are investigated by scanning electron microscopy and X-ray diffraction. As-formed TiO2 nanotubes have straight tubular layers with an amorphous structure. As the annealing temperature increases, the anodized TiO2 nanotubes are converted to the anatase and rutile phases with some cracks on the tube surface and irregular morphology. Electrochemical results reveal that amorphous TiO2 nanotubes annealed at 150°C have the largest oxidation/ reduction current, which leads to the best electrochromic performance during the coloring/bleaching process. Viologenanchored TiO2 nanotubes show superior electrochromic properties compared to pristine TiO2 nanotubes, which indicates that the incorporation of a viologen can be an effective way to enhance the electrochromic properties of TiO2 nanotubes.

In this study, we demonstrate the photoelectrochromic devices composed of TiO2 and WO3 nanostructuresprepared by anodization method. The morphology and the crystal structure of anodized TiO2 nanotubes and WO3 nan-oporous layers are investigated by SEM and XRD. To fabricate a transparent photoelectrode on FTO substrate, a TiO2nanotube membrane, which has been detached from Ti substrate, is transferred to FTO substrate and annealed at 450°Cfor 1 hr. The photoelectrode of TiO2 nanotube and the counter electrode of WO3 nanoporous layer are assembled andthe inner space is filled with a liquid electrolyte containing 0.5 M LiI and 5 mM I2 as a redox mediator. The propertiesof the photoelectrochromic devices is investigated and Pt-WO3 electrode system shows better electrochromic perform-ance compared toWO3 electrode.