Water soluble organic electrochromic materials

Welsh, T. A. and Draper, E. R. (2021) Water soluble organic electrochromic materials. RSC Advances, 11(9), pp. 5245-5264. (doi: 10.1039/D0RA10346B)

Abstract

Organic materials in electrochromic device applications possess a number of advantages over transition metal oxides like WO3 such as ease of synthesis and tunability, flexibility, and derivability from renewable feedstocks. However, these advantages are offset by the need to use organic solvents in their processing which are often flammable and/or toxic. Therefore, it is of paramount importance to the longterm economic and environmental sustainability of organic electronics research to develop water soluble organic materials. Herein, we describe the advances made in developing water soluble organic electronic materials for electrochromic applications. We here classify electrochromic materials into two broad categories: those that transition between colourless and coloured states (Type I) and those that transition between differently coloured states (Type II). The methods by which organic electrochromes are made water soluble are described in detail along with their potential applications in order to promote research in water soluble organic electronic materials in general.

• Item Type: Articles
• Additional Information: ERD would like to thank EPSRC for a NIA award (EP/S032673/1) which also funds TAW. ERD also thanks the Leverhulme Trust for an Early Career Fellowship (ECF-2017-223) and the University of Glasgow for a LKAS Leadership Fellowship.
• Status: Published
• Refereed: Yes
• Glasgow Author(s) Enlighten ID: Welsh, Dr Thomas and Draper, Emily
• Authors: Welsh, T. A., and Draper, E. R.
• College/School: College of Science and Engineering > School of Chemistry
• Journal Name: RSC Advances
• Publisher: Royal Society of Chemistry
• ISSN: 2046-2069
• ISSN (Online): 2046-2069
• Copyright Holders: Copyright © 2021 The Authors
• First Published: First published in RSC Advances 11(9):5245-5264
• Publisher Policy: Reproduced under a Creative Commons licence

Project Code	Award No	Project Name	Principal Investigator	Funder's Name	Funder Ref	Lead Dept
306112		Electrochromic Gels for Smart Windows	Emily Draper	Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC)	EP/S032673/1	Chemistry