Electrochromic materials: scope for the cyclic decay mechanisms and performance stability optimisation strategies

Electrochromic materials (ECMs) have important potential applications in the field of intelligent optoelectronic displays. However, ECMs and its devices cannot be truly applied on a large scale until the problem of their long-period performance degradation is really solved. This article focuses on summarising the attenuation mechanism of common ECMs, which is mainly divided into three types: structural damage, irreversible reaction and ion capture, and summarises four optimisation strategies for the cyclic stability of ECMs at the present stage: doping is used to change the internal structure of the material in order to achieve the purpose of improving the cyclic stability; composite means to allow a variety of materials to interact with each other in order that the original material has no excellent performance; improve the cyclic stability of ECMs by the special characteristics of nanostructures; and enhance the performance by optimising the preparation process and regulating the parameters in the preparation process. Finally, the article discusses the potential for optimising the long-term stability of ECMs in the future, based on the earlier-mentioned research.