Electrochromic photonic crystal displays with versatile color tunability

An electrochromic photonic crystal (EPC) display device that combines chemical (electrochromic) and physical (photonic) coloring mechanisms is reported for the first time. This EPC exhibits superior and versatile color tunability. The TiO2 inverse opals fabricated by atomic layer deposition are adopted as EPC material. Results show that the photonic band gaps selectively modified the optical properties of the EPC and enabled facile tuning of electrochromic colors. In addition, the reversible photonic and photonic modified electrochromic coloring states with insertion/extraction of lithium ions enable novel and promising approaches for future display applications. (C) 2011 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.