Abstract
Despite much investigation of the electrochromic (EC) coloration process in 
films, such displays have not yet become commercially viable because of limited useful device life. Device degradation occurs by 
film dissolution on the shelf and erosion during cycling. Water plays a crucial role in both efficient coloring/bleaching and in film degradation. To better understand the degradation process and the role of water, dissolution of EC 
films in aqueous media was studied. The results strongly suggest that EC films formed by evaporation are amorphous molecular solids consisting of trimeric 
molecules bound weakly to each other through water‐bridge, hydrogen, and van der Waal's bonding. The nature of this microstructure is responsible for the high solubility. Films subjected to ion bombardment show decreased dissolution rates as well as decreased electrochromism and, while amorphous, are believed to have a random network rather than molecular microstructure.