All-Donor Black Electrochromic Polymer via Donor Extraction
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Solution Overview
Problem
Developing high-performance black electrochromic polymers is challenging due to issues such as high oxidation potentials, low contrast, and limited thermal and photostability in conventional donor-acceptor systems.
Innovation Solution
An electrochromic polymer comprising at least two conjugated polymers with electron donor groups, chemically linked or physically blended, or both, to achieve a black color at the colored state, overcoming the limitations of conventional black polymers by using only electron-donor moieties.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Illumination intensity
If conventional donor-acceptor systems are used to create black electrochromic polymers, then black color can be achieved, but high oxidation potentials occur
Solution Approach 1:
The patent removes electron-accepting moieties from the polymer backbone, retaining only electron-donor groups. This extraction of the acceptor component eliminates the source of high oxidation potentials while preserving the ability to achieve black color through the donor groups' optical properties and aggregation behavior.
Solution Approach 2:
Instead of using the conventional donor-acceptor approach where acceptors raise oxidation potentials, the patent inverts the strategy by using solely donor groups. This inversion achieves black color through alternative mechanisms (optical absorption and aggregation) without the harmful side effect of high oxidation potentials.
2Illumination intensity
If conventional black electrochromic polymers are used, then black color is achieved, but low contrast occurs
Solution Approach 1:
The patent changes the chemical composition parameter by eliminating electron-accepting moieties and using only electron-donor groups. This parameter change modifies the optical properties to achieve both black color and high contrast, as the donor-only system provides superior optical contrast compared to conventional donor-acceptor polymers.
3Illumination intensity
If conventional black electrochromic polymers are used, then black color is achieved, but limited thermal and photostability occurs
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts and removes the electron-accepting moieties that cause instability in conventional systems. By eliminating these vulnerable components and retaining only robust electron-donor groups, the resulting polymer achieves enhanced thermal and photostability while maintaining black color performance.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
The solution results in an electrochromic polymer with improved optical and mechanical stability, higher production yields, and the ability to achieve a black color through absorption of the entire visible light region, with potential for various applications including e-paper and smart windows.
Implementation Method 1
the ability to achieve a black color through absorption of the entire visible light region
Implementation Method 2
the electrochromic polymer shows black color at colored state
Data Source
AI summary
An all-donor black color electrochromic polymer is disclosed as well as a method for preparing the all-donor black color electrochromic polymer. The electrochromic polymer comprises conjugated polymers, and the conjugated polymers are chemically linked, or physically blended, or both.