Testing of electrochromic materials using symmetrical devices

Christine Lefrou (1) , Carole Gentilhomme (2) , Marc Ast (2)

1 LEPMI - Laboratoire d'Electrochimie et de Physico-chimie des Matériaux et des Interfaces
2 SVI - Surface du Verre et Interfaces

“Symmetric materials” devices, where both electrodes are made of the same electrochromic materials, allow the in situ study of side reactions. Each transferred charge that is not used for the expected electrochromic reaction will cause a colour change in the whole symmetric device. Two electrochromic materials, WO₃ and IrO₂, are successively used to show how to obtain information about side reactions such as faradaic efficiency, reversibility and potential limits from the symmetric experiment. This in situ approach with a polymer electrolyte shows significant differences compared to results obtained with studies in aqueous electrolytes.

Mots clés: colouration parameters; electrochromic systems; <i>in situ</i> studies; iridium oxide; side reactions; tungsten oxide

Domaines: Matériaux

Christine Lefrou, Carole Gentilhomme, Marc Ast. Testing of electrochromic materials using symmetrical devices. Journal of Applied Electrochemistry, 2006, 36 (9), pp. 1011-1019. ⟨10.1007/s10800-006-9169-0⟩. ⟨hal-00333490⟩