CN111123607A - Electrochromic display panel and electronic paper - Google Patents

Abstract

The invention relates to an electrochromic display panel and electronic paper, which comprise a first substrate, an electrochromic pixel array layer and a second substrate which are sequentially arranged, wherein the electrochromic pixel array layer comprises a plurality of independently controlled electrochromic units which are arranged in an array, and each electrochromic unit comprises a first electrode, a black electrochromic pixel layer and a second electrode which are sequentially arranged; the first electrode has a first opposing surface opposing the second electrode, the second electrode has a second opposing surface opposing the first electrode, and uneven surfaces are provided on the first opposing surface and/or the second opposing surface. The invention uses the black electrochromic pixel layer to form the electrochromic unit, can realize black, gray and white display, and the uneven surface is arranged on the electrode in the electrochromic pixel array, so that the electric field between the two electrodes is more uniformly distributed, thereby enhancing the conductivity effect of the electrochromic unit and accelerating the color change effect of the electrochromic layer.

Description

Electrochromic display panel and electronic paper

Technical Field

The invention relates to an electrochromic display panel and electronic paper, and belongs to the technical field of display.

Background

Electrochromism (EC) refers to a phenomenon in which optical properties (reflectivity, transmittance, absorption, etc.) of a material undergo a stable and reversible color change under the action of an external electric field, and is visually represented as a reversible change in color and transparency. Materials having electrochromic properties are referred to as electrochromic materials, and devices made with electrochromic materials are referred to as electrochromic devices. Electrochromic materials are one of the hot spots of material science research in recent years. The electrochromic material is an important component in an electrochromic device and dominates the electrochromic performance of the device. Electrochromic materials can be classified into anodic electrochromic materials (ion-intercalation coloring) and cathodic electrochromic materials (ion-extraction coloring) according to the structural properties of the materials. The anode electrochromic material and the cathode electrochromic material can be assembled into a complementary electrochromic device, and the complementary device can improve the integral electrochromic performance such as optical contrast, color change, spectral absorption range and the like. At present, the existing electrochromic display panel and electronic paper have the following problems:

1) the electrochromic layer is often formed by injecting a liquid electrochromic material into the gap, so that the electrode above the gap is easy to collapse due to pressure difference, the packaging difficulty is high, the liquid leakage phenomenon is easy to occur, and the quality of the electrochromic display panel is seriously influenced;

2) when the ambient light is weak, the display effect is not good, and the use is inconvenient for users;

3) the existing electronic paper often cannot display pure black, or a device for displaying pure black has a complex structure and a slow response speed;

4) the non-uniformity of the applied electric field is large, thereby affecting the dielectric strength of the dielectric;

5) under the same other conditions, the more uneven the electric field is, the lower the dielectric strength of the dielectric is, and the other materials are likely to contact the dielectric layer to cause corrosion reaction.

Disclosure of Invention

The invention aims to provide an electrochromic display panel and electronic paper, which can display black, gray and white, have uniform electric field distribution among electrodes, and are simple in structure and easy to prepare.

In order to achieve the purpose, the invention provides the following technical scheme: an electrochromic display panel comprises a first substrate, an electrochromic pixel array layer and a second substrate which are sequentially arranged, wherein the electrochromic pixel array layer comprises a plurality of electrochromic units which are arranged in an array and independently controlled, and each electrochromic unit comprises a first electrode, a black electrochromic pixel layer and a second electrode which are sequentially arranged; the first electrode is provided with a first opposite surface opposite to the second electrode, the second electrode is provided with a second opposite surface opposite to the first electrode, and uneven surfaces are arranged on the first opposite surface and/or the second opposite surface.

Further, the uneven surface is selected from any one of an arc surface, a wave surface, a slope surface or a wedge surface.

Further, the uneven surface is selected from any combination of an arc surface, a wave surface, a slope surface, a wedge surface and a plane surface.

Further, the first electrode and/or the second electrode are transparent electrodes.

Further, the electrochromic display panel further comprises a reflective layer disposed between the first substrate and the electrochromic pixel array layer.

Further, the electrochromic display panel further comprises an adhesive layer, the adhesive layer is arranged between the reflecting layer and the electrochromic pixel array layer, and the first electrode is adhered to the reflecting layer through the adhesive layer.

Furthermore, the thickness of the reflecting layer is 1-70 μm, and the thickness of the bonding layer is 1-40 μm.

Further, the reflective layer is formed of a polymer resin and white particles.

Furthermore, the electrochromic unit also comprises an ion storage layer and a conducting layer which are sequentially arranged between the first electrode and the black electrochromic pixel layer.

Further, the conductive layer and the ion storage layer are solid structures.

Further, the black electrochromic pixel layer is provided with an electrochromic material, and the electrochromic material is selected from any one or more of an organic electrochromic material, an inorganic electrochromic material or a composite electrochromic material.

Further, the inorganic electrochromic material comprises metal oxide, preferably tungsten trioxide and nickel oxide.

Further, the organic electrochromic material is preferably any one or more of viologens, isophthalates, metal phthalocyanines, pyridine metal complexes, polyanilines, polypyrroles and polythiophenes.

The invention also provides electronic paper which comprises the electrochromic display panel.

The invention has the beneficial effects that: according to the electrochromic display panel and the electronic paper, the electrochromic pixel array is arranged between the first substrate and the second substrate, and the uneven surface is arranged on the electrodes in the electrochromic pixel array, so that the electric field between the two electrodes is distributed more uniformly, the electric conductivity effect is enhanced, and the color change effect of the color change layer is accelerated; the electrochromic display panel and the electronic paper form an electrochromic unit by using the black electrochromic pixel layer, can realize black, gray and white display, have simple structures, are easy to prepare and have better display effect.

In addition, the electrochromic display panel and the electronic paper fix the electrochromic pixel array on the white reflecting layer in a bonding mode, so that the packaging step of a liquid electrochromic material is omitted, the phenomena that an electrode above a gap collapses and is easy to leak due to pressure difference are avoided, the production cost is saved, and the product quality is improved.

The foregoing description is only an overview of the technical solutions of the present invention, and in order to make the technical solutions of the present invention more clearly understood and to implement them in accordance with the contents of the description, the following detailed description is given with reference to the preferred embodiments of the present invention and the accompanying drawings.

Drawings

FIG. 1 is a top view of an electrochromic display panel according to the invention;

fig. 2a and 2b are schematic structural diagrams of an electrochromic display panel according to the present invention;

FIG. 3 is a schematic view of another electrochromic display panel according to the present invention;

fig. 4 to 6 are schematic structural diagrams of uneven surfaces in an electrochromic display panel according to the present invention;

fig. 7 is a schematic structural diagram of an electrochromic display panel according to a first embodiment of the invention;

fig. 8 is a schematic structural diagram of an electrochromic display panel according to a second embodiment of the invention;

fig. 9 is a schematic structural diagram of an electrochromic display panel according to a third embodiment of the present invention;

fig. 10 is a schematic view of a partial structure of an electrochromic display panel according to a fourth embodiment of the present invention.

Detailed Description

The following detailed description of embodiments of the present invention is provided in connection with the accompanying drawings and examples. The following examples are intended to illustrate the invention but are not intended to limit the scope of the invention.

Referring to fig. 1, referring to fig. 1 and fig. 2a, in a vertical direction 10, the electrochromic display panel of the present invention includes a first substrate 1, an electrochromic pixel array layer 3, and a second substrate 4, which are sequentially disposed, where the electrochromic pixel array layer 3 includes a plurality of electrochromic units 30 arranged in an array and independently controlled, and each electrochromic unit 30 includes a first electrode 31, a black electrochromic pixel layer 32, and a second electrode 33, which are sequentially disposed, and when the electrochromic display panel is powered on, the black electrochromic pixel layer 32 becomes black, and when the electrochromic display panel is powered off, the black electrochromic pixel layer 32 is transparent. The first electrode 31 has a first opposite surface 311 opposite to the second electrode 33, the second electrode 33 has a second opposite surface 331 opposite to the first electrode 31, and uneven surfaces are provided on the first opposite surface 311 and/or the second opposite surface 331.

Referring to fig. 2b, the electrochromic display panel of the invention further includes a reflective layer 2, and the reflective layer 2 is disposed between the first substrate 1 and the electrochromic pixel array layer 3. In the vertical direction 10, the electrochromic display panel comprises a first substrate 1, a reflecting layer 2, an electrochromic pixel array layer 3 and a second substrate 4 which are sequentially stacked from bottom to top, the electrochromic pixel array layer 3 comprises a plurality of arrays, independently controlled electrochromic units 30, each electrochromic unit 30 comprises a first electrode 31, a black electrochromic pixel layer 32 and a second electrode 33 which are sequentially arranged, when the electrochromic display panel is powered on, the black electrochromic pixel layers 32 become black, and when the electrochromic display panel is powered off, the black electrochromic pixel layers 32 are transparent. The first electrode 31 has a first opposite surface 311 opposite to the second electrode 33, the second electrode 33 has a second opposite surface 331 opposite to the first electrode 31, and uneven surfaces are provided on the first opposite surface 311 and/or the second opposite surface 331.

The electrochromic cell 30 can realize not only pure black display but also gray scale display.

In the present invention, the electrochromic cell 30 is further provided with a solid ion storage layer 34 and a conductive layer 35, and the ion storage layer 34 and the conductive layer 35 are sequentially laminated between the first electrode 31 and the black electrochromic pixel layer 32. An ion storage layer 34 is disposed on the first electrode 31, a conductive layer 35 is disposed on the ion storage layer 34, and a black electrochromic pixel layer 32 is disposed on the conductive layer 35.

In the present invention, the reflective layer 2 is formed of a polymer resin which may be selected from any one including a phenol resin, an epoxy resin, a polyamide resin, a polyurethane resin or an acrylic resin, and white particles which may be selected from any one or more of aluminum oxide, zinc oxide, titanium oxide or silicon dioxide. The reflective layer 2 is preferably a white reflective layer. The black electrochromic pixel layer 32 is of a solid-state structure, and as shown in fig. 3, when the reflective layer 2 has no viscosity, the first electrode 31 may be adhered to the reflective layer 2 through the adhesive layer 21 by disposing the adhesive layer 21 between the reflective layer 2 and the electrochromic pixel array layer 3, and disposing the adhesive layer 21 may increase stability. The thickness of the reflective layer 2 is preferably 1 to 40 μm, and the thickness of the adhesive layer 21 is preferably 1 to 40 μm. When the reflective layer 2 is adhesive, i.e. an adhesive polymer resin is selected, the first electrode 31 may be directly adhered to the reflective layer 2, wherein the thickness of the reflective layer 2 is preferably 10-70 μm. Through the arrangement, the stability and the flatness of the electrochromic display panel with the structure are ensured, and the phenomenon that Newton rings and the like are unfavorable for the display effect can be avoided or reduced.

In the invention, the uneven surface is selected from any one of an arc surface, a wave surface, a slope surface or a wedge surface, and is preferably the arc surface and the wave surface; or the uneven surface is selected from any combination of an arc surface, a wave surface, a slope surface, a wedge surface and a plane surface.

Referring to fig. 4 to fig. 6 (the views of the first electrode 31 are used for illustration), since the electric field boundary effect is usually generated at the electrode boundary, in order to achieve the best effect of the electric field distribution between the first electrode 31 and the second electrode 33, the first opposite surface 311 and/or the second opposite surface 331 are provided with an arc surface, a wave surface or a combination of the wave surface and a plane line for illustration. The two opposite surfaces may be mirror images, however, only one of the first opposite surface 311 and the second opposite surface 331 may be provided with an arc surface, a wave surface, or a combination of a wave surface and a plane line. In the present invention, the first opposite surface 311 and/or the second opposite surface 331 may further have a slope surface or a wedge surface, or other combinations of an arc surface, a wave surface, a slope surface, a wedge surface and a plane surface, but considering the difficulty and cost of manufacturing technology, it is preferable to use a combination of an arc surface or a wave surface and a plane line. As shown in fig. 6, the distribution of the wavy surface near the edge of the first electrode 31 or the second electrode 33 can be made tighter than the distribution near the center of the first electrode 31 or the second electrode 33, so as to better reduce the influence caused by the electric field boundary effect.

In the present invention, the first substrate 1 and the second substrate 4 are transparent substrates, and the first electrode 31 and the second electrode 33 are transparent electrodes, wherein the first electrode 31 and the second electrode 33 have a linear structure or a planar structure, preferably a mesh structure.

The black electrochromic pixel layer 32 in the invention is provided with an electrochromic material, which is selected from any one or more of an organic electrochromic material, an inorganic electrochromic material or a composite electrochromic material, wherein the inorganic electrochromic material comprises a metal oxide, preferably tungsten trioxide or nickel oxide; the organic electrochromic material is preferably any one or more of viologens, isophthalates, metal phthalocyanines, pyridine metal complexes, polyanilines, polypyrroles and polythiophenes, and can be prepared by methods such as sputtering, chemical vapor deposition, sol-gel or evaporation, or can be prepared by drying and curing a liquid electrochromic material. The first electrode 31 and the second electrode 33 of the present invention are selected from any one of Indium Tin Oxide (ITO), fluorine-doped tin oxide (FTO), or a conductive polymer. The first substrate 1 and the second substrate 4 may be transparent inorganic substrates, such as quartz or glass, or may be transparent plastics, or may be other commonly used transparent materials.

The invention also provides an electronic paper (not shown) comprising the electrochromic display panel, and other structures are all in the prior art and will not be described herein.

The present invention will be described in further detail with reference to specific examples.

Example one

Referring to fig. 7, the electrochromic display panel shown in this embodiment includes a first substrate 1-1, an electrochromic pixel array 1-2, and a second substrate 1-3, which are sequentially disposed from bottom to top, the electrochromic pixel array layer 1-2 includes a plurality of electrochromic units 1-20 arranged in an array and independently controlled, and the electrochromic units 1-20 include a first transparent electrode 1-21, an ion storage layer 1-22, a conductive layer 1-23, a black electrochromic pixel layer 1-24, and a second transparent electrode 1-25, which are sequentially disposed from bottom to top. The black electrochromic pixel layers 1 to 24 are made of electrochromic materials, when the power is on, the black electrochromic pixel layers 1 to 24 are changed into black, and when the power is off, the black electrochromic pixel layers 1 to 24 are transparent, so that the electrochromic display panel can realize black, gray and white display. Wherein the first transparent electrode 1-21 has a first opposing surface 1-211 opposing the second transparent electrode 1-25, and the second transparent electrode 1-25 has a second opposing surface 1-251 opposing the first transparent electrode 1-21, and in order to make the electric field distribution between the first transparent electrode 1-21 and the second transparent electrode 1-25 more uniform, the present embodiment provides an arc-shaped surface on the first opposing surface 1-211 and the second opposing surface 1-251.

Example two

Referring to fig. 8, the electrochromic display panel of the present embodiment includes a first substrate 2-1, an electrochromic pixel array 2-2, and a second substrate 2-3, which are sequentially disposed from bottom to top, the electrochromic pixel array layer 2-2 includes a plurality of electrochromic units 2-20 arranged in an array and independently controlled, and the electrochromic units 2-20 include a first transparent electrode 2-21, an ion storage layer 2-22, a conductive layer 2-23, a black electrochromic pixel layer 2-24, and a second transparent electrode 2-25, which are sequentially disposed from bottom to top. The first transparent electrode 2-21 has a first opposite surface 2-211 opposite to the second transparent electrode 2-25, and the second transparent electrode 2-25 has a second opposite surface 2-251 opposite to the first transparent electrode 2-21, in order to make the electric field distribution between the first transparent electrode 2-21 and the second transparent electrode 2-25 more uniform, the embodiment further arranges a wavy surface on the first transparent electrode 2-21 and the second transparent electrode 2-25, thereby avoiding generating an electric field boundary effect and making the electric field distribution more uniform.

EXAMPLE III

Referring to fig. 9, the structure of the electrochromic display panel of the present embodiment is basically the same as that of the embodiment, and the difference is: the first opposite surface 3-211 and the second opposite surface 3-251 of the present embodiment are disposed by a combination of a wavy surface and a planar surface, and the distribution of the first opposite surface and the second opposite surface near the edges of the first transparent electrode 3-21 and the second transparent electrode 3-25 is more tightly disposed than the distribution near the center of the first transparent electrode 3-21 or the second transparent electrode 3-25, so as to avoid generating an electric field boundary effect and make the electric field distribution more uniform.

Example four

Referring to fig. 10, the structure of the electrochromic display panel of the present embodiment is basically the same as that of the embodiment, and the difference is: the present embodiment is provided with a reflective layer 4-4 and an adhesive layer 4-41 between a first substrate 4-1 and an electrochromic pixel array 4-2, and in the present embodiment, the reflective layer 4-4 is composed of a phenol resin and dispersed titanium oxide and is provided on the first substrate 4-1 by a spin coating method. The thickness of the reflective layer 4-4 was 20 μm, and the thickness of the adhesive layer 4-41 was 15 μm. By providing the adhesive layer 4-41, a better adhesion effect can be achieved than when adhering the electrochromic pixel array 4-2 with an adhesive reflective layer, so that the electrochromic pixel array 4-2 is more stably fixed on the reflective layer 4-4.

In summary, the following steps: according to the electrochromic display panel and the electronic paper, the electrochromic pixel array is arranged between the first substrate and the second substrate, and the uneven surface is arranged on the electrodes in the electrochromic pixel array, so that the electric field between the two electrodes is distributed more uniformly, the electric conductivity effect is enhanced, and the color change effect of the color change layer is accelerated; the electrochromic display panel and the electronic paper form an electrochromic unit by using the black electrochromic pixel layer, can realize black, gray and white display, have simple structures, are easy to prepare and have better display effect.

In addition, the electrochromic display panel and the electronic paper fix the electrochromic pixel array on the white reflecting layer in a bonding mode, so that the packaging step of a liquid electrochromic material is omitted, the phenomena that an electrode above a gap collapses and is easy to leak due to pressure difference are avoided, the production cost is saved, and the product quality is improved.

The technical features of the embodiments described above may be arbitrarily combined, and for the sake of brevity, all possible combinations of the technical features in the embodiments described above are not described, but should be considered as being within the scope of the present specification as long as there is no contradiction between the combinations of the technical features.

The above-mentioned embodiments only express several embodiments of the present invention, and the description thereof is more specific and detailed, but not construed as limiting the scope of the invention. It should be noted that, for a person skilled in the art, several variations and modifications can be made without departing from the inventive concept, which falls within the scope of the present invention. Therefore, the protection scope of the present patent shall be subject to the appended claims.

Claims (14)

1. The electrochromic display panel is characterized by comprising a first substrate, an electrochromic pixel array layer and a second substrate which are sequentially arranged, wherein the electrochromic pixel array layer comprises a plurality of array-arranged independently-controlled electrochromic units, and each electrochromic unit comprises a first electrode, a black electrochromic pixel layer and a second electrode which are sequentially arranged; the first electrode is provided with a first opposite surface opposite to the second electrode, the second electrode is provided with a second opposite surface opposite to the first electrode, and uneven surfaces are arranged on the first opposite surface and/or the second opposite surface.

2. The electrochromic display panel according to claim 1 wherein said uneven surface is selected from any one of an arc-shaped surface, a wave-shaped surface, a slope-shaped surface, or a wedge-shaped surface.

3. The electrochromic display panel of claim 1 wherein said uneven surfaces are selected from the group consisting of arcuate surfaces, undulating surfaces, sloped surfaces, wedge surfaces, and any combination of planar surfaces.

4. The electrochromic display panel according to claim 1, wherein the first electrode and/or the second electrode is a transparent electrode.

5. The electrochromic display panel of claim 1 further comprising a reflective layer disposed between said first substrate and electrochromic pixel array layer.

6. The electrochromic display panel of claim 5 further comprising an adhesive layer disposed between said reflective layer and electrochromic pixel array layer, said first electrode being adhered to said reflective layer by said adhesive layer.

7. The electrochromic display panel according to claim 5, wherein the thickness of said reflective layer is 1 to 70 μm and the thickness of said adhesive layer is 1 to 40 μm.

8. The electrochromic display panel according to claim 5, wherein said reflective layer is formed of a polymer resin and white particles.

9. The electrochromic display panel according to claim 1, wherein the electrochromic cell further comprises an ion storage layer and a conductive layer sequentially disposed between the first electrode and the black electrochromic pixel layer.

10. The electrochromic display panel of claim 9 wherein said conductive layer and ion storage layer are solid state structures.

11. The electrochromic display panel according to claim 1, wherein the black electrochromic pixel layer is provided with an electrochromic material selected from any one or more of an organic electrochromic material, an inorganic electrochromic material, or a composite electrochromic material.

12. Electrochromic display panel as claimed in claim 11, characterized in that the inorganic electrochromic material comprises a metal oxide, preferably tungsten trioxide, nickel oxide.

13. The electrochromic display panel according to claim 11, wherein said organic electrochromic material is preferably any one or more of viologens, isophthalates, metal phthalocyanines, pyridine-based metal complexes, polyanilines, polypyrroles, polythiophenes.

14. An electronic paper characterized by comprising the electrochromic display panel according to any one of claims 1 to 13.

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