High-contrast and fast electrochromic switching enabled by plasmonics
- Nanjing Univ., Nanjing (China); National Institute of Standards and Technology, Gaithersburg, MD (United States); Univ. of Maryland, College Park, MD (United States)
- National Institute of Standards and Technology, Gaithersburg, MD (United States); Univ. of Maryland, College Park, MD (United States)
- National Institute of Standards and Technology, Gaithersburg, MD (United States)
- National Institute of Standards and Technology, Gaithersburg, MD (United States); Sandia National Lab. (SNL-CA), Livermore, CA (United States)
With vibrant colours and simple, room-temperature processing methods, electrochromic polymers have attracted attention as active materials for flexible, low-power-consuming devices. But, slow switching speeds in devices realized to date, as well as the complexity of having to combine several distinct polymers to achieve a full-colour gamut, have limited electrochromic materials to niche applications. We achieve fast, high-contrast electrochromic switching by significantly enhancing the interaction of light—propagating as deep-subwavelength-confined surface plasmon polaritons through arrays of metallic nanoslits, with an electrochromic polymer—present as an ultra-thin coating on the slit sidewalls. Furthermore, the switchable configuration retains the short temporal charge-diffusion characteristics of thin electrochromic films, while maintaining the high optical contrast associated with thicker electrochromic coatings. We also demonstrate that by controlling the pitch of the nanoslit arrays, it is possible to achieve a full-colour response with high contrast and fast switching speeds, while relying on just one electrochromic polymer.
- Research Organization:
- Energy Frontier Research Centers (EFRC) (United States). Nanostructures for Electrical Energy Storage (NEES); Sandia National Lab. (SNL-CA), Livermore, CA (United States)
- Sponsoring Organization:
- USDOE Office of Science (SC), Basic Energy Sciences (BES)
- Grant/Contract Number:
- SC0001160; AC04-94AL85000; 70NANB10H193
- OSTI ID:
- 1260969
- Alternate ID(s):
- OSTI ID: 1338383
- Report Number(s):
- SAND2016-12382J; ncomms10479
- Journal Information:
- Nature Communications, Vol. 7; ISSN 2041-1723
- Publisher:
- Nature Publishing GroupCopyright Statement
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
Web of Science
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