Electrochromism refers to the phenomenon whereby the optical properties of a material undergo reversible changes through external electric field actuation. Compared with traditional electrochromic devices (ECDs), zinc anode-based electrochromic devices (ZECDs) utilize the inherent potential difference between the metal anode and the electrochromic layer to enable the device to change color or bleach spontaneously, thereby recovering part of the energy consumption.
This work focuses on ZECDs and presents three studies aimed at achieving multicolor and broad-spectrum control. The first study utilized phytic acid-doped PANI to develop a multicolor (transparent, yellow, blue, deep purple) ZECDs with four operating modes: bright, cool, dark and warm. The second study coupled the reversible Zn electrodeposition with ion-inserted PB to design the ZECDs with neutral color. The third study developed a Zn/MnO₂ dual-electrodeposition-based ZECDs with a wide light modulation range and neutral color, further simplifying the device structure. The above findings offer new insights for the development of next-generation high-performance electrochromic smart windows.

Electrochromism,PANI,PB,reversible Zn electrodeposition,MnO2