Ionic liquids in electrochromic devices

The ionic liquid (PYR14TFSI) has proved to be the key material to make a Li-ion conducting element of a complete electrochromic device, when interposed between transparent film electrodes like WO3 and Li-charged V2O5. The key features of this ionic liquid and its mixtures with LiTFSI are the excellent transparency in the visible and NIR optical regions, the good ionic conductivity and the electrochemical compatibility with inorganic Li-intercalation oxide thin film electrodes used in electrochromic devices. The higher optical contrast found during WO3 colouration with PYR14TFSI-LiTFSI, compared to that in a conventional non-aqueous electrolyte like PC-LiTFSI, was attributed to the larger inertness of the former one (no decomposition reaction at the lowest electrode potential). This highly conductive ionic liquid has been incorporated into a polymer matrix (P(EO)10LiTFSI), in order to obtain a transparent solid electrolyte with high Li ion conductivity and good mechanical stability. Finally this solid PYR14TFSI-P(EO)10LiTFSI transparent ion conductor was interposed between the same electrodes as above in order to yield a fully solid-state, Li-ion electrochromic device. This new solid electrolyte was able to transfer reversibly a Li ionic charge between 5 mC cm−2 and 10 mC cm−2 from the lithium storage electrode LixV2O5 to the WO3 electrochromic electrode in less than 100 s at room T, darkening the device from an initial 80% to a final 30% transmittance (at 650 nm). Such a device has been tested first under various constant current conditions, and later under potentiostatic control using ±2 V steps. The latter method allows not only for a faster response of the electrochromic system, but provides also an easier life stability test of the device, which withstood 2000 cycles with little changes in its optical contrast.