Dispenser printing of electrochromic display on textiles for creative applications

For the first time, the design, fabrication and testing of a dispenser-printed electrochromic (EC) display on fabric using Poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene)-poly(styrenesulfonate) (PEDOT:PSS) as the EC material are reported. The entire display is based on a lateral structural design in which the electrodes are located adjacent to each other in the same plane. The display is directly printed onto a, polyvinyl chloride (PVC)-coated, 100% polyester woven fabric which is commonly used in the creative industries. Each layer was cured below 130°C to ensure no thermal damage to the fabric. Each display pixel, consisting of the colour changing and counter electrodes, was separately driven at two voltage direct currents (VDCs). The colour change between pale blue and dark blue was controlled by switching the polarity using a microcontroller. Two demonstrators, a 3 × 3 pixel matrix display and a seven segment display, were achieved with an average switching speed of 5 s