Controlled Redox and Electrical Properties in Polyheterocycles
Abstract
Electrochromic and conducting polymers may prove especially important for a number of Air Force applications including chameleon coatings, informational displays, IR and microwave attenuation, dialed tint windows, and gap sealants. We are developing conjugated, redox active, and conducting polymers with controllable electronic band gaps that range from 1.1 eV to 4.0 eV, thus spanning from the NIR, through the entire visible spectrum, and into the UV. We have developed a reproducible method by which electrochromic coloration efficiencies (CE) can be measured accurately for polymer films. We have investigated the use of BF3 ethyl etherate as an alterative media for the electrochemical synthesis of highly electroactive polymer films and shown it to be applicable to preparing high quality polythiophene and donor-acceptor polymers which can be n-type doped. Electrochromic devices (ECD's) with especially high color contrasts between bleached and colored states have been developed. We have broadened the visible absorption in polymer ECD's while retaining the high contrast by having two cathodically coloring polymers with different Lambda(sub max) values deposited as a bilayer on a single electrode. Functionalized 3,4-propylenedioxythiophene polymers have been developed as soluble conducting polymers for blending into elastomeric hosts and as solution processable high contrast electrochromic polymers. We have prepared multi-color electrochromic and red emitting polymers through the synthesis of soluble low band gap polymers containing conjugated donor and acceptor units.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Sep 20, 2001
- Accession Number
- ADA395045
Entities
People
- John R. Reynolds
Organizations
- University of Florida