Issue 2, 2019

Polythiophene derivatives compatible with both fullerene and non-fullerene acceptors for polymer solar cells

Abstract

In this work we report three novel polythiophene derivatives (P4T2F-HD, P4T2F-HD/BO, and P4T2F-BO) which are synthesized via a three-step reaction in each case. The polymers show excellent coplanarity and desired aggregation characteristics in solution. The HOMO energy levels of the new polymers were down-shifted by 0.4 eV as compared to the commercial polymer poly(3-hexylthiophene) (P3HT). The polymers are able to offer high device performance when combined with both fullerene and non-fullerene acceptors. When blended with a non-fullerene acceptor (5Z,5′Z)-5,5′-(((4,4,9,9-tetraoctyl-4,9-dihydro-s-indaceno[1,2-b:5,6-b′]dithiophene-2,7-diyl)bis(benzo[c][1,2,5]thiadiazole-7,4-diyl))bis-(methanylylidene))bis(3-ethyl-2-thioxothiazolidin-4-one) (O-IDTBR), P4T2F-HD offers the highest PCE of 7.0% with a high Voc of 1.04 V. Moreover, P4T2F-HD can tolerate the variation of active layer thickness over a large range when blended with a fullerene acceptor. The decent device performance and processability under mild conditions demonstrate that polythiophene derivatives hold great potential for application in large-scale production of polymer solar cell modules.

Graphical abstract: Polythiophene derivatives compatible with both fullerene and non-fullerene acceptors for polymer solar cells

Supplementary files

Article information

Article type
Paper
Submitted
19 Sep 2018
Accepted
03 Dec 2018
First published
05 Dec 2018

J. Mater. Chem. C, 2019,7, 314-323

Polythiophene derivatives compatible with both fullerene and non-fullerene acceptors for polymer solar cells

X. Jia, Z. Chen, C. Duan, Z. Wang, Q. Yin, F. Huang and Y. Cao, J. Mater. Chem. C, 2019, 7, 314 DOI: 10.1039/C8TC04746D

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