Electropolymerization of D-A type EDOT-based monomers consisting of camphor substituted quinoxaline unit for electrochromism with enhanced performance

In this study, three novel donor-acceptor type monomers based on EDOT (3,4-ethoxylene dioxy thiophene) and quinoxaline derivates were designed and synthesized through Stille coupling reaction, and further polymerized by electrochemical polymerization for electrochromic application. Specially, a quinoxaline-based acceptor with bulky and rigid camphor group was introduced into the polyEDOT backbone, which was demonstrated to be effective for the improvement of electrochromic performance. The corresponding redox active polymers PCQEDOT and PCQ-DEDOT performed transparent oxidation states and robust switching stability. Polymer PCQEDOT showed superior electrochromic performances with high optical contrast (over 50%) at 647 nm, short switching time (around 0.5 s) and high coloration efficiency (427 cm(2) C-1) under a low applied potential of 0.7 V.

Automated summary

In this study, novel donor-acceptor type monomers based on EDOT and quinoxaline derivates were synthesized and polymerized for electrochromic application. By introducing a special acceptor structure into the polymer backbone, the electrochromic performance of the polymer was significantly improved.