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The conducting polymer poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene) (PEDOT) is well known for its electrochromic properties in the visible region. Less focus has been devoted to the infrared (IR) wavelength range, although tunable IR properties could enable a wide range of novel applications. As an example, modern day vehicles have thermal cameras to identify pedestrians and animals in total darkness, but road and speed signs cannot be easily visualized by these imaging systems. IR electrochromism could enable a new generation of dynamic road signs that are compatible with thermal imaging, while simultaneously providing contrast also in the visible region. Here, we present the first metal-free flexible IR electrochromic devices, based on PEDOT:Tosylate as both the electrochromic material and electrodes. Lateral electrochromic devices enabled a detailed investigation of the IR electrochromism of thin PEDOT:Tosylate films, revealing large changes in their thermal signature, with effective temperature changes up to 10 °C between the oxidized (1.5 V) and reduced (−1.5 V) states of the polymer. Larger scale (7 × 7 cm) vertical electrochromic devices demonstrate practical suitability and showed effective temperature changes of approximately 7 °C, with good optical memory and fast switching (1.9 s from the oxidized state to the reduced state and 3.3 s for the reversed switching). The results are highly encouraging for using PEDOT:Tosylate for IR electrochromic applications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Water-soluble conducting polymers are of interest to enable more versatile processing in aqueous media as well as to facilitate interactions with biomolecules. Here, we report a substituted poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene) derivative (PEDOT-S:H) that is fully water-soluble and self-doped. When electrochemically oxidizing a PEDOT-S:H thin film, the film detaches from the underlying electrode. The oxidation of PEDOT-S:H starts with an initial phase of swelling followed by cracking before it finally disrupts into small flakes and detaches from the electrode. We investigated the detachment mechanism and found that parameters such as the size, charge, and concentration of ions in the electrolyte, the temperature, and also the pH influence the characteristics of detachment. When oxidizing PEDOT-S:H, the positively charged polymer backbone is balanced by anions from the electrolyte solution and also by the sulfonate groups on the side chains (more self-doping). From our experiments, we conclude that detachment of the PEDOT-S:H film upon oxidation occurs in part due to swelling caused by an inflow of solvated anions and associated water and in part due to chain rearrangements within the film, caused by more self-doping. We believe that PEDOT-S:H detachment can be of interest in a number of different applications, including addressed and active control of the release of materials such as biomolecules and cell cultures.