Issue 7, 2016

Structural engineering of porphyrin-based small molecules as donors for efficient organic solar cells

Abstract

Porphyrin-based small molecules as donors have long been ignored in bulky heterojunction organic solar cells due to their unfavorable aggregation and the low charge mobility. With the aim of striking a delicate balance between molecular design, morphology, interfacial layer and device fabrication to maximize the power conversion efficiency (PCE) of organic solar cells, three comparable porphyrin-based small molecules with an acceptor–donor–acceptor configuration have been developed for use as donor materials in solution processed small molecule bulk heterojunction organic solar cells. In these molecules, electron-deficient 3-ethylrhodanine is introduced into the electron-rich porphyrin core through 5,15-bis(phenylethynyl) linkers. Structural engineering with 10,20-bis(2-hexylnonyl) aliphatic peripheral substituent on the porphyrin core, instead of the aromatic substituents such as 10,20-bis[3,5-di(dodecyloxyl)phenyl], and 10,20-bis(4-dodecyloxylphenyl), can simultaneously facilitate stronger intermolecular π–π stacking and higher charge transfer mobility in the film, leading to a maximum PCE of 7.70% in a conventional device. The inverted devices have also been demonstrated to have long-term ambient stability and a comparable PCE of 7.55%.

Graphical abstract: Structural engineering of porphyrin-based small molecules as donors for efficient organic solar cells

Supplementary files

Article information

Article type
Edge Article
Submitted
10 dec 2015
Accepted
04 mar 2016
First published
15 mar 2016
This article is Open Access

All publication charges for this article have been paid for by the Royal Society of Chemistry
Creative Commons BY-NC license

Chem. Sci., 2016,7, 4301-4307

Structural engineering of porphyrin-based small molecules as donors for efficient organic solar cells

H. Wang, L. Xiao, L. Yan, S. Chen, X. Zhu, X. Peng, X. Wang, W. Wong and W. Wong, Chem. Sci., 2016, 7, 4301 DOI: 10.1039/C5SC04783H

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