Issue 30, 2016

A fluorine-induced high-performance narrow bandgap polymer based on thiadiazolo[3,4-c]pyridine for photovoltaic applications

Abstract

Thiadiazolo[3,4-c]pyridine (PT) has great potential in the construction of high-performance narrow bandgap (NBG) photovoltaic polymers. But to date the best power conversion efficiencies (PCEs) for PT-containing polymers are only around 6%. Herein, we report two PT-containing NBG polymers PDTPT-2T and PDTPT-2TF based on 2,2′-bithiophene (2T) and 3,3′-difluoro-2,2′-bithiophene (2TF), respectively. The effects of a fluorine substituent on optoelectronic properties are thoroughly investigated. The film absorption onset of PDTPT-2TF is 855 nm, bathochromic-shifted by 24 nm in comparison with that (831 nm) of PDTPT-2T. The lowest unoccupied molecular orbital (LUMO) and highest occupied molecular orbital (HOMO) energy levels of PDTPT-2TF are down-shifted by 0.15 and 0.11 eV relative to those of PDTPT-2T, respectively. X-ray diffraction (XRD) patterns indicate that a more ordered structure is formed in the solid film of PDTPT-2TF. Furthermore, the miscibility between the polymer and [6,6]-phenyl-C71-butyric acid methyl ester (PC71BM) is significantly improved through the introduction of fluorine. Consequently, PDTPT-2TF exhibits a high PCE of 8.01%, while PDTPT-2T only shows a maximum PCE of 2.65%. The efficiency of 8.01% is the highest one for PT-containing polymers, and more importantly, it is achieved without any processing additives or post-treatments. This work indicates that PT would have great potential as a building block to construct high-performance photovoltaic polymers.

Graphical abstract: A fluorine-induced high-performance narrow bandgap polymer based on thiadiazolo[3,4-c]pyridine for photovoltaic applications

Supplementary files

Article information

Article type
Paper
Submitted
16 May 2016
Accepted
23 Jun 2016
First published
23 Jun 2016

J. Mater. Chem. A, 2016,4, 11729-11737

A fluorine-induced high-performance narrow bandgap polymer based on thiadiazolo[3,4-c]pyridine for photovoltaic applications

J. Wang, X. Bao, D. Ding, M. Qiu, Z. Du, J. Wang, J. Liu, M. Sun and R. Yang, J. Mater. Chem. A, 2016, 4, 11729 DOI: 10.1039/C6TA04059D

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