Electropolymerization of D-A-D type triphenlyamine-based monomers consisting of camphor substituted quinoxaline unit for efficient electrochromism and supercapacitors

Two new donor-acceptor (D-A) type triphenylamine-based monomers TPACQF and TPACQH consisting of camphor substituted quinoxaline unit were prepared and further electrochemical polymerized for electrochromic devices and supercapacitors. The obtained polymer thin films PTPACQH and PTPACQF exhibited large optical contrast in both visible and near IR region under external electric stimulus, resulting in obvious color change. Among them, PTPACQF showed superior electrochromic performances with high optical contrast (94%) at 745 nm, short switching time (colored time of 1.1 s and bleached time of 0.5 s) and outstanding coloration efficiency 475.25 cm2/C. Moreover, both two polymers showed high areal specific capacitance (5.72 mF/cm2 for PTPACQH and 5.89 mF/cm2 for PTPACQF) at a current density of 0.1 mA/cm2, respectively. The electrochromic energy storage devices based on these two polymers were fabricated, which could light the LED bulb with visualizing the energy storage state of the devices, which guaranteed their potential applications in energy saving smart windows.