Enhanced electrochromic properties of a polypyrrole–indigo carmine–gold nanoparticles nanocomposite

Abstract

An indigo carmine doped polypyrrole embedded with gold nanoparticles nanocomposite (PPy–IC–Au_nanop) was synthesized by in situ electrochemical polymerization of polypyrrole in the presence of HAuCl₄. The nanocomposite was characterized by in situ spectroelectrochemical experiments to study the effect of embedded gold nanoparticles on the electrochromic properties of the material. The results show the formation of a nanocomposite presenting enhanced electrochromic and optical properties, higher electroactivity and 10% lower band-gap energies. The PPy–IC–Au_nanop presented a two-fold increase in optical contrast when compared to PPy–IC, in addition to better optical stability.