A novel organic electrochromic device with hybrid capacitor architecture towards multicolour representation

A multicolour novel electrochromic device containing both anodic and cathodic EC materials was fabricated with the simple hybrid capacitor architecture.

High proton conductivity in the molecular interlayer of a polymer nanosheet multilayer film

High proton conductivity was achieved in a polymer multilayer film with a well-defined two-dimensional lamella structure. The multilayer film was prepared by deposition of poly(N-dodecylacryamide-co-acrylic acid) (p(DDA/AA)) monolayers onto a solid substrate using the Langmuir-Blodgett technique. Grazing-angle incidence X-ray diffraction measurement of a 30-layer film of p(DDA/AA) showed strong diffraction peaks in the out-of-plane direction at 2θ = 2.26° and 4.50°, revealing that the multilayer film had a highly uniform layered structure with a monolayer thickness of 2.0 nm. The proton conductivity of the p(DDA/AA) multilayer film parallel to the layer plane direction was 0.051 S/cm at 60 °C and 98% relative humidity with a low activation energy of 0.35 eV, which is comparable to perfluorosulfonic acid membranes. The high conductivity and low activation energy resulted from the formation of uniform two-dimensional proton-conductive nanochannels in the hydrophilic regions of the multilayer film. The proton conductivity of the multilayer film perpendicular to the layer plane was determined to be 2.1 × 10(-13) S/cm. Therefore, the multilayer film showed large anisotropic conductivity with an anisotropic ratio of 2.4 × 10(11).

Synthesis and monolayer behavior of organogermanium clusters

Several organogermanium clusters (Or-GeCs) with different organic capping reagents have been synthesized, and their monolayer behaviors on a water surface studied. GeCl(4) and organic bromides were reacted in a one-pot process using magnesium to synthesize the corresponding Or-GeCs. The structures of the Or-GeCs were characterized by UV-vis, NMR, and FT-IR spectroscopy. GPC measurements were also collected, and the results revealed that the cores of the clusters were composed of a 3-D Ge-Ge network capped with organic reagents. Surface pressure (π)-area (A) isotherms and Brewster angle microscopy (BAM) measurements indicated that the Or-GeCs with alkyl capping regents formed an oil, whereas those with aromatic capping regents formed a solid-like monolayer at the air-water interface. It was concluded that the occurrence of a π-π interaction between the aromatic capping reagents was necessary for the formation of a solid-like film. Phenyl-GeCs, which contained a phenyl group capping reagent, were transferred onto a solid substrate using the Langmuir-Schaeffer method, and atomic force microscopy (AFM) images revealed a uniform film (root mean square roughness of 0.6 nm) of 3-4 nm in thickness. Furthermore, a multilayer phenyl-GeC film was prepared by repeating the deposition process.