Construction of a Patterned, Lightweight, and Transparent Zinc Mesh Anode for Smart Electrochromic Energy Storage Windows

Abstract

The emerging zinc anode-based electrochromic devices (ZECDs) have been extensively regarded as the most promising avenue toward next-generation transparent electronics. Unfortunately, the zinc anodes suffer from opacity, heavy weight, and poor processability, which seriously constrain the multiscenario applications of ZECDs. Herein, we elaborately proposed a novel strategy to construct a lightweight, flexible, patterned, and transparent zinc electrode by continuously electrodepositing a conductive Ni-P intermediate layer and zinc working layer on nylon mesh (denoted as Zn@NiP@NL). A ZECD window was assembled from anodic Zn@NiP@NL and cathodic Prussian blue (PB) materials. Impressively, the ZECD window exhibited interesting electrochromic performance with robust functional parameters including 7.5 s-swift switching times for coloration, 12 s for bleaching, 50% optical contrast, and superior cycling stability. The proposed advantages of Zn@NiP@NL-based ZECDs satisfy the requirements for solar-charging smart windows to inherently solve the intermittency problem of solar energy utilization by solar charging during the day and energy output at night. Moreover, the development of nylon-type fabric electrodes will open new opportunities for next-generation customizable electronics.