Synthesis and Electrochromic Properties of Fluorescent PEDOT/PSS Composite

A novel kind of poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene)/poly(styrene sulfonate) (PEDOT/PSS) composite was synthesized through chemical oxidation polymerization in the presence of fluorescent yellow GG (FYGG) as the functional co-dopant and Poly(vinyl alcohol) as the film-forming additives. The as-prepared composite was found combined with fluorescent function and electrochromic property. Film of the PEDOT/PSS-FYGG composites switches from green in the reduction state to blue-green in the oxidized state, which is different from the pure PEDOT/PSS of light blue (-0.2V) and dark blue (0.8V). Because of the big molecule of FYGG as the dopant, the response time reaching 90% of the full optical contrast of PEDOT/PSS-FYGG was 1.77s for the coloration process and 1.78s for the reverse bleach process, which is a little slower than the pure PEDOT/PSS. Additionally, PEDOT/PSS-FYGG film presents a good stability. It is shown that acid dye doping is an effective method to broaden the color change range of the electrochromic mateials.