Patent ID: 7602543

Claim:
A display element comprising opposed electrodes having therebetween an electrolyte layer comprising silver or a compound comprising silver in the chemical structure, the display element being driven by a driving operation including a whitening/blackening operation so as to whiten or blacken a pixel of the display element by dissolving silver or depositing silver using the opposed electrodes, wherein the electrolyte layer comprises substantially no iodine; at least two pixels each having a different blackening are simultaneously whitened, instead of whitening each pixel one by one; and the electrolyte layer comprises at least one compound represented by Formula (1) or Formula (2) and at least one compound represented by Formula (3) or Formula (4): wherein L represents an oxygen atom or CH 2 , R 1 -R 4 each represent a hydrogen atom, an alkyl group, an alkenyl group, an aryl group, a cycloalkyl group, an alkoxyalkyl group or an alkoxy group, wherein R 5 and R 6 each represent a hydrogen atom, an alkyl group, an alkenyl group, an aryl group, a cycloalkyl group, an alkoxyalkyl group or an alkoxy group, R 7 —S—R 8 Formula (3) wherein R 7 and R 8 each represent a substituted or unsubstituted hydrocarbon group, provided that R 7 and R 8 may be combined to form a ring, and, when a ring containing S is formed, no aromatic group is contained, wherein: M represents a hydrogen atom, a metal atom or a quarternary ammonium; Z represents a nitrogen-containing heterocyle; n represents an integer of 0 to 5; R 9 represents a hydrogen atom, a halogen atom, an alkyl group, an aryl group, an alkylcarbonamide group, an arylcarbonamide group, an alkylsulfonamide group, an arylsulfonamide group, an alkoxy group, an aryloxy group, an alkylthio group, an arylthio group, an alkylcarbamoyl group, an arylcarbamoyl group, a carbamoyl group, an alkylsulfamoyl group, an arylsulfamoyl group, a sulfamoyl group, a cyano group, an alkylsulfonyl group, an arylsulfonyl group, an alkoxycarbonyl group, the aryloxycarbonyl group, an alkylcarbonyl group, an arylcarbonyl group, an acyloxy group, a carboxyl group, a carbonyl group, a sulfonyl group, an amino group, a hydroxy group, or a heterocycle group; and when n is an integer of two or more, each R 9 may be the same or different, and each R 9 may be combined to form a condensed ring.