Reflective and Complementary Transmissive All-Printed Electrochromic Displays Based on Prussian Blue

By combining the electrochromic (EC) properties of Prussian blue (PB) and poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene):polystyrene sulfonate (PEDOT:PSS), complementary EC displays manufactured by slot-die coating and screen printing on flexible plastic substrates are reported. Various display designs have been realized, resulting in displays operating in either transmissive or reflective mode. For the transmission mode displays, the color contrast is enhanced by the complementary switching of the two EC electrodes PB and PEDOT:PSS. Both electrodes are either exhibiting a concurrent colorless or blue appearance. For the displays operating in reflection mode, a white opaque electrolyte is used in conjunction with the EC properties of PB, resulting in a display device switching between a fully white state and a blue-colored state. The developments of the different device architectures, that either operate in reflection or transmission mode, demonstrate a scalable manufacturing approach of all-printed EC displays that may be used in a large variety of Internet of Things applications.