Ion potential diagrams for electrochromic devices

Ion potential diagrams can facilitate the description of systems in which ionic species are mobile. They depict qualitatively the spatial dependence of the potential energy for mobile ions, somewhat akin to band diagrams for electrons. We construct ion potential diagrams for the mixed conducting (oxide), optically active electrodes of five-layer electrochromic devices, based on reversible Li⁺ intercalation. These serve to analyze stability problems that arise in these systems. We then use them as building blocks to arrive at ion diagrams for complete devices. This allows analyses of (dis)coloration kinetics.