New dual conjugated polymer electrochromic device with remarkable yellow-to-green switch for adaptive camouflage

•Two solution-processable yellow/green-to-transmissive electrochromic conjugated polymers were synthesized.•Fabricated patterned and flexible camouflage electrochromic devices based on two polymers.•The camouflage devices possess the excellent electrochromic performances.•This work offers a viable strategy for electrochromic adaptive camouflage. Electrochromic devices that reversibly switch between yellow and green have great potential in adaptive camouflage. However, such device with excellent performances for practical applications is scarce. Herein, we fabricated a new dual conjugated polymer electrochromic device based on two self-synthesized conjugated electrochromic polymers P1 and P2 that possess excellent yellow-to-transmissive and green-to-transmissive electrochromism, respectively. Following straightforward color complementation principle of dual polymer electrochromic device, the resulted electrochromic device achieved reversible color changes between yellow and green, and showed good overall performance, including low driving voltages (≤0.6 V), rapid switching speed (≤2.0 s), high color difference (ΔE*ab = 60.6), and lasting cyclic stability (>12,000 cycles). In the end, patterned prototype devices based on the design of dual conjugated polymer device have been successfully assembled, demonstrated the potential application in adaptive camouflage. This work is an important step towards enabling enhanced capabilities for electrochromic camouflage.