A novel imide-based hybrid gel polymer electrolyte: Synthesis and its application in electrochromic device.

Abstract A novel imide-based organic-inorganic gel polymer electrolyte based on the reaction of poly (propylene glycol) bis(2-aminopropyl ether) (2-APPG) with pyromellitic dianhydride (PMDA) and followed by the reaction with 3-isocyanatepropyltriethoxysilane (ICS) is successfully fabricated. The results reveal that the electrolyte has hardly any weight loss up to 100 °C, exhibiting a high ionic conductivity of 1.01 × 10−3 S cm-1 at room temperature and the Li ion transference numbers (t+) is as high as 0.65, as well as good electrochemical stability with electrochemical stability window up to 10 V. An archetype electrochromic device is assembled by using the organic-inorganic gel polymer electrolyte as conductive medium. The results confirm that the device has a high voltage (5 V) stability performance, high coloration efficiency (193.3 cm2 C−1) and good cycle performance (450 cycles over a voltage range of −3.5-2.5 V). So the presented organic-inorganic gel electrolyte is a very promising material for electrochemical application. Highlights • A novel imide-based organic/inorganic gel polymer electrolyte is successfully synthesized according to sol-gel process. • The electrolyte possesses excellent electrochemical properties. • An archetype electrochromic device with the electrolyte exhibits a high voltage stability and good cycle performance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]