A novel hybrid quasi-solid polymer electrolyte based on porous PVB and modified PEG for electrochromic application

Hybrid quasi-solid polymer electrolytes (QSPEs) were obtained by adding modified polyethylene glycol (mPEG) prepolymer into porous polyvinyl butyral (PVB). The prepared QSPEs have good luminous clarity (transmittance >70% in the visible region), high ionic conductivity in the level of 10−5 S cm−1. On the other hand, bond stress of the QSPE reaches 0.57 fold increase with introduction of 12 wt % PVB, attributing to functional groups in PVB. Moreover, an electrochromic device (ECD) was fabricated using PProDOT-Me2 and Li-Ti doped NiO as working and counter electrode respectively, and hybrid QSPE as electrolyte. Compared with ECD based on mPEG electrolyte, the ECD shows 43.81% of optical modulation (ΔT) at 585 nm, and maintains 84% of the initial ΔT value after 20,000 cycles. These outstanding comprehensive performances demonstrate the QSPE has extensive prospects for electrochromic applications.