Electrochromic behavior and stability of polyaniline composite films combined with a polycation‐bathophenanthroline‐Fe complex

Abstract

Abstract The electromic behavior of polyaniline‐poly(sodium acrylate) composite films (CPAn‐PAcNa) combined with a polycation bound to the disulfonated bathophenathroline ligand‐Fe complex (QDM‐BPDS‐Fe) was investigated in a LiClO 4 CH 3 CN non‐aqueous aprotic solution. The combination was achieved by chemial deposition of CPAn‐PAcNa on QDM‐BPDS‐Fe. When the combined film was prepared with appropriately low quantities of QDM‐BPDS‐Fe, they showed much wider color changes than those of the component materials by overlapping of the electrochromic behavior of CPAn‐PAcNa and QDM‐BPDS‐Fe. However, it was difficult to control their spectral changes individually by a simple operation of polarizing the whole combined films, because the oxidation potential of CPAn‐PAcNa and QDM‐BPDS‐Fe were close to each other. Their electrochemical activity was lowered by the combination. From Fourier‐transform infrared measurements, it was deduced that such a low stability of the component materials in the combined films was caused by formation of an electrochemically inactive complex by electrostatic interaction between the first oxidized state of polyaniline and the sulfonato groups in BPDS.