FLEXIBLE ELECTROCHROMIC WINDOW MATERIALS BASED ON POLY(DIPHENYLAMINE) AND RELATED CONDUCTING POLYMERS

ELECTROCHROMIC WINDOW MATERIALS WITH LOW POWER CONSUMPTION AND HIGH AND REVERSIBLE CYCLABILITY HAVE RECEIVED MUCH ATTENTION FOR POTENTIAL USES IN ENERGY CONSERVATION AND LIGHTING CONTROL IN COMMERCIAL BUILDINGS, HOUSES, AND AUTOMOBILES. IN CONTRAST TO SYSTEMS SUCH AS WO3 (TUNGSTEN TRIOXXIDE), CONDUCTING POLYMERS (CPS) HAVE RECEIVED INCREASING ATTENTION DUE TO THEIR GREATER POTENTIAL FOR TAILORABILITY AND MORE VARIABLES FOR SYSTEM IMPROVEMENT. THE PHASE I WORK WILL USE STABLE PROTOTYPE DEVICES BASED ON POLY(DIPHENYLAMINE) AND POLY (DIPHENYLBENZIDINE), TWO SUCH CPS WITH DEMONSTRATED CYCLABILITY THROUGH 10,000 CYCLES THAT HAVE ALREADY BEEN DEVELOPED. THESE DEVICES ARE THIN, FLEXIBLE, HERMETICALLY SEALED, VERY INEXPENSIVE, AND USE LITTLE POWER. IN CONTRAST TO OTHER CPS, THESE TWO HAVE THE DESIRABLE COLOR CHANGES OF GLASS-TRANSPARENT TO OPAQUE GREEN-BLACK. THE PHASE I INVESTIGATION WILL SEEK TO BRING THESE FURTHER TO A LEVEL OF COMMERCIAL VIABILITY, ESPECIALLY WITH RESPECT TO EXTENDED CYCLING AND LARGE-AREA USE, USING A NUMBER OF NOVEL APPROACHES. THE TARGET WILL BE FLEXIBLE, THIN ELECTROCHROMICS "CLIPPED ON" TO EXISTING WINDOW SYSTEMS AND DISCARDED AFTER USEFUL LIFE. THE APPROACHES USED WILL ATTACK IMPROVEMENTS IN POLYMER STRUCTURAL PROPERTIES, MORPHOLOGY, AND REPROCESSING, AND INCORPORATION OF NEW FEATURES IN DEVICE DESIGN, INCLUDING BETTER POTENTIAL CONTROL, SPECIAL TRANSPARENT GELLED ELECTROLYTES, SUPERIOR GASKETS AND SEALS, AND EFFECTIVE METHODS FOR ADDRESSING RESISTANCE PROBLEMS IN THE TRANSPARENT CONDUCTING SUBSTRATES FOR LARGE-AREA USE.