The development of electrochromic (EC) displays has been in the challenge of displaying precise patterns, such as characters or high-resolution images of small size. High-performance EC materials as well as efficient, precise-display strategies are still urgent. To enable a microfactor-guided strategy for highly precise display, I3-/I- ion-migration-induced localized electrochromism is developed in an EC device based on the C-rich polymeric carbon nitride (CPCN). The CPCN material with an extended conjugated backbone of individual aromatic nuclei and heptazine rings has been reported possessing remarkable photorechargeable performance. Owing to the self-charging behavior, the CPCN exhibits color switching by the interfacial charge recombination with I3- ions in electrolyte and serves as the EC material with a coloration efficiency of 210.2 cm2 C-1 and an optical contrast of 48.6%. Material synthesis, electrode preparation, device design and fabrication, mechanism analysis, and performance evaluation of the CPCN-based EC display device are described.
Keywords: C-rich carbon nitride; conjugated polymer; electrochromic device; laser etching technique; precise display.