ABSTRACT
This chapter aims to teach general concepts and structure–property relationships that govern color and provides electrochromic switching control. It focuses on soluble and high molecular weight electrochromic polymers. The chapter draws on systems that can switch between a colored and a clear state as these require color tuning both in the neutral and charged state. It demonstrates how to expand the range of accessible colors, as well as how switching to a more colorless oxidized state can be achieved. Electrochromism refers to the ability of a material to reversibly change its electromagnetic spectrum when undergoing a redox process. While the determination of optical contrast is a relatively straightforward measurement that can be done using a simple spectrophotometer, quantitative comparisons between materials in the literature is not trivial. The switching time is highly dependent on experimental parameters such as electrolyte concentration, cell geometry, film thickness, and substrate resistance.
