Apr 11, 2025
11:00am - 11:15am
Summit, Level 4, Room 429
Pei-Jan Hung1,Qizhang Li1,Ting-Hsuan Chen1,2,Ching-Tai Fu1,Yu Han1,Ronghui Wu1,Gangbin Yan1,Qingsong Fan1,Jiadong Liu1,Pin-Ruei Huang1,Yuanke Chen1,Chenxi Sui1,Genesis Higueros2,1,Alex Flores1,Fengyuan Shi3,Po-Chun Hsu1
University of Chicago1,Duke University2,University of Illinois at Chicago3
Pei-Jan Hung1,Qizhang Li1,Ting-Hsuan Chen1,2,Ching-Tai Fu1,Yu Han1,Ronghui Wu1,Gangbin Yan1,Qingsong Fan1,Jiadong Liu1,Pin-Ruei Huang1,Yuanke Chen1,Chenxi Sui1,Genesis Higueros2,1,Alex Flores1,Fengyuan Shi3,Po-Chun Hsu1
University of Chicago1,Duke University2,University of Illinois at Chicago3
Mid-infrared (mid-IR) electrochromism presents a promising technology for innovative control of radiative heat, with potential applications in areas such as climate change mitigation, enhancing industrial process efficiency, spacecraft thermal management, and personal heat regulation. Despite its potential, most mid-IR electrochromic devices are fabricated on planar substrates with fixed surface topographies. When these planar devices are applied to three-dimensional or arbitrarily curved surfaces, they often fail to conform fully, leaving significant air gaps and thermal contact resistance, which diminishes the effectiveness of radiative thermoregulation. To overcome this persistent challenge, we have developed a fabrication method that enables all-solution-processed electrochromic devices to be applied directly to the surface of arbitrarily curved 3D objects, effectively transforming these surfaces into electrically tunable emittance layers. The core components include PEDOT as the active layer, separated by a heterogeneous mixed ionic-electronic conductor and hydrogel, all of which are conformally deposited onto the object's surface in a layer-by-layer fashion. Our mid-IR electrochromic devices demonstrate an apparent temperature modulation of 6.1°C on planar substrates and 1.8°C on curved substrates by tuning their emissivity. This work highlights a promising pathway for future applications of solution-processable conjugated polymers in electrochromics, thermal management, and spacecraft technologies.