US 7489432 - Metal oxide nanowire electrochromic display

http://www.freepatentsonline.com/7489432.html

Electrochromic displays are formed from chemicals capable of changing color upon application of a voltage. This patent from Ricoh teaches using metal oxide nanowires or nanotubes to form such a display having advantages in energy efficiency. Claim 1 reads:

1. An electrochromic display device, comprising:

a display electrode formed of a substrate having a transparent conductive film;

a counter electrode formed of a substrate having a transparent conductive film; and

a metal oxide layer which contains a metal oxide and is disposed on the display electrode, the metal oxide layer having an organic electrochromic compound attached, wherein the metal oxide is a long fibrous metal oxide of a nanowire structure or a nanotube structure, and wherein the device has a reflectivity during colored state of not more than 7%.