Electrosynthesis and characterization of aminomethyl functionalized PEDOT with electrochromic property.

We herein report the electrosynthesis of an aminomethyl functionalized poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene) (PEDOT) derivative, poly(2′-aminomethyl-3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene) (PEDOT-MeNH), in CHCl-BuNPF (0.1 mol·L) system containing 2% boron trifluoride diethyl etherate (BFEE). The electrochemical behavior, structure characterization, thermal properties and surface morphology of this novel polymer were systematically investigated by cyclic voltammetry (CV), Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), thermogravimetry (TG) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM), respectively. Electrochemistry results demonstrated that PEDOT-MeNH film displayed good redox properties and high electrochemical stability. Besides, PEDOT-MeNH films exhibited the electrochromic nature with obvious color changing from purple in the reduced form to blue upon oxidation. By further investigation, kinetic studies revealed that PEDOT-MeNH film had decent contrast ratio (41.8%), favorable coloration efficiency (152.1 cm·C), low switching voltages and moderate response time (2.4 s). Satisfactory results implied that the obtained PEDOT-MeNH film is a promising optoelectronic material and holds promise for electrochromic devices and display applications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]