Electrochromic material containing unsymmetrical substituted N,N,N,N-tetraaryl-1,4-phenylenediamine: Synthesis and their optical, electrochemical, and electrochromic properties

A novel dibromo compound containing unsymmetrical substituted bi-triarylamine was synthesized. A conjugated polymer was prepared via the Suzuki coupling from the newly prepared dibromo compound and 9,9-dioctylfluorene-2,7-bis(trimethyleneboronate). The glass transition temperature (Tg) of the conjugated polymer was 140 °C, 10% weight-loss temperatures (Td10) in nitrogen was 458 °C, and char yield at 800 °C in nitrogen higher than 64%. Cyclic voltammogram of the polymer film cast onto an indium-tin oxide (ITO)-coated glass substrate exhibited two reversible oxidation redox couples at 0.70 and 1.10 V versus Ag/Ag+ in acetonitrile solution. The polymer films revealed excellent stability of electrochromic characteristics, with a color change from yellow green of the neutral form to the dark green and blue of oxidized forms at applied potentials ranging from 0 to 1.3 V. The color switching time and bleaching time were 4.25 and 7.22 s for 860 nm and 5.51 s and 6.48 s for 560 nm. © 2010 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part A: Polym Chem 48: 1469–1476, 2010