Deep eutectic solvent-based gel electrolytes for flexible electrochromic devices with excellent high/low temperature durability

With the increasing interest in the application of electrochromism to flexible and wearable electronics in recent years,flexible electrochromic devices(ECDs)that can function at extreme temperatures are required.However,the functionalities of flexible ECDs are severely hampered by the inadequate choice of electrolytes,which might ultimately result in performance fading during low-and high-temperature operations.Here,we develop a deep eutectic solvent(DES)-based gel electrolyte that can maintain its optical,electrical,and mechanical properties over a wide range of temperatures(-40 to 150℃),exhibiting an extremely high visible-range transmittance over 90%,ion conductivity of 0.63 mS cm^(-1),and fracture strain exceeding 2000%.Owing to the excellent processability of the DES-based electrolytes,provided by dynamic interactions such as the lithium and hydrogen bonding between the DES and polymer matrix,a directly written patterning in ECDs is realized for the first time.The fabricated ECDs exhibit an excellent electrochromic behavior superior to the behavior of the ECDs fabricated with traditional gel electrolytes.The introduction of such DES-based electrolytes is expected to pave the way for a widespread application of electrochromic products.

Stabilizing photo-induced vacancy defects in MOF matrix for highperformance SERS detection

Photo-induced vacancy defects are employed strategically to imbue semiconductors with enhanced performance characteristics for many important applications such as surface-enhanced Raman scattering(SERS)sensing,photocatalysis,and photovoltaic applications.However,the long-term maintenance and use of photo-induced vacancy defects remain elusive,because of their rapid self-healing upon air exposure.In this study,we demonstrate that photo-induced oxygen vacancy(PIVO)defects can be stabilized by the photoexcitation of metal–organic framework(MOF)materials,which is crucial for SERS analysis.The PIVO defects in MOF materials are stable for at least two weeks in the ambient atmosphere,owing to the combination of steric hindrance and electron delocalization around vacancy defects,which significantly contrasts the short lifetime(within minutes)of PIVO defects in metal-oxide semiconductors.With the formation of stable PIVO defects,a prominent SERS enhancement surpassing that of pristine MOFs is achieved,accompanied with a reduced limit of detection by three orders of magnitude.Moreover,the additional SERS enhancement rendered by PIVO defects can be stably retained and is effective for monitoring various small molecules,such as dopamine and bisphenol A.