Sb–Cu–Li electrochromic mirrors

Switchable mirrors offer significant advantages over traditional electrochromic devices for control of incident light in architectural and aerospace applications due to their large dynamic ranges in both transmission and reflection in the visible and near infrared regimes. Here we describe construction and spectroscopic characterization of a complete electrochromic mirror device consisting of an antimony–copper alloy (40 at% Cu) active electrode coupled with an optically passive vanadium oxide counter electrode and a crosslinked polymer gel electrolyte. Transmittance and reflectance spectra in the visible–near IR (300–2500 nm) in both mirror and transparent states are reported. The photopic transmittance of the complete device varied from less than 3% to more than 20% during cycling, requiring about 40 min for complete switching in each direction. At the same time, the photopic reflectance varied from 40% to 25%. The crosslinked polymer improves the stability of the mirror electrode relative to that in a liquid electrolyte.