Multicoloured electrochromic thin films of NiO/PANI

NiO/polyaniline (PANI) thin films have been prepared by a two-step process. NiO thin films were electrodeposited from an aqueous solution of NiCl ₂ · 6H₂O at pH 7.5 on fluorine-doped tin oxide coated glass substrates and a layer of PANI was formed on NiO thin films by chemical bath deposition. The films were characterized for their structural, optical, morphological and electrochromic properties. X-ray diffraction and Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy indicated the formation of NiO and PANI, in which NiO is of cubic structure. Scanning electron micrographs represent porous granular NiO, which get uniformly carpeted with PANI, leading to a matty morphology of NiO/PANI samples. The electrochromic performance of NiO/PANI films has been studied using cyclic voltammetry and chronoamperometry over the -1.2 to +2.2 V (versus saturated calomel electrode (SCE)) potential window in 1M LiClO₄+ propylene carbonate. The NiO/PANI films exhibit electrochromism with colour that changes from pale yellow (leucoemeraldine base at -0.7 V versus SCE) to dark green (emeraldine salt at 0.4 V versus SCE) to purple (pernigraniline at 0.8 V versus SCE) in the reduced states and dark blue (nigraniline at 0.5 V versus SCE) to dark green (emeraldine salt at 0.1 V versus SCE) to light green (photoemeraldine at -0.3 V versus SCE) in its oxidized states. These colours, though akin to pure PANI, have higher contrast, high speed of operation and high stability, owing to the properties of NiO. The colouration efficiency of the NiO/PANI film was estimated to be 85cm² C^-1.