Highly Optical Performance Photoelectrochromic Device Based on Br-/Br3- Electrolyte

A highly optical performance photoelectrochromic device (PECD) is assembled and investigated. The device consists of an electrochromic (EC) polymer film, a ruthenium-based dye-sensitized TiO2 electrode and a layer of Br /Br-3 electrolyte. The optical modulation of device is 44.3% at 582 nm, which is much higher than device based on commonly used I /I-3 electrolyte. Its switching times between colored and bleached states are fast under illumination (100 mW cm (2)), 2.5 s for coloring process and 2.6 s for bleaching process. Also, this PECD reveals a robust cyclic durability of photoelectrochromic performance over 1000 cycles. These may indicate that Br /Br-3 electrolyte is beneficial for collaboration of photovoltaic and electrochromic parts. The results not only provide a method to assemble high performance PECD, but also disclose its potential for commercialization. (C) 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.