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We discovered a unique synthetic route to construct 2H-pyran-containing tetracyclic dithienocyclopentapyran (DTCP) and dibenzocyclopentapyran (DBCP) architectures. The synthesis involves an acid-induced dehydration cyclization followed by a [1,5] hydride-shift isomerization to form a cyclopentanone moiety which was converted to the pyran-embedded tetracyclic products by a CuI-catalyzed intramolecular C-O bond formation in good yield. DTCP was used as a building block to prepare an acceptor-donor-acceptor (A-D-A) type n-type material DTCP-BC leading to a solar cell efficiency of 9.32%.

Two-dimensional alkylated αβ-TTN and βα-TTN were designed and synthesized. The cross-shaped αβ-TTN and βα-TTN moieties were polymerized to afford two isomeric polymers, Pαβ-TTNFBT40 and Pβα-TTNFBT4...

Pd(II)-catalyzed dehydrogenative Heck olefination of selenophenes with a broad olefinic substrate scope and high functional group tolerance is demonstrated. Carbonyl-substituted and phenyl-substituted olefins with electron-donating (D) and electron-accepting (A) groups can be regioselectively installed at C2 of the selenophene. The 2-olefinated selenophenes can subsequently undergo a second oxidative olefination to rapidly produce a new class of symmetrical D-π-D or unsymmetrical D-π

Three unsymmetrical diiodobichalcogenophenes SSeI2, STeI2, and SeTeI2 and a diiodoterchalcogenophene SSeTeI2 were prepared. Grignard metathesis of SSeI2, STeI2, SeTeI2, and SSeTeI2 occurred regioselectively at the lighter chalcogenophene site because of its relatively lower electron density and less steric bulk. Nickel-catalyzed Kumada catalyst-transfer polycondensation of these Mg species provided a new class of side-chain regioregular and main-chain AB-type alternating poly(bichalcogenophene)s—PSSe, PSTe, and PSeTe—through a chain-growth mechanism. The ring-walking of the Ni catalyst from the lighter to the heavier chalcogenophene facilitated subsequent oxidative addition, thereby suppressing the possibility of chain-transfer or chain-termination. More significantly, the Ni catalyst could walk over the distance of three rings (ca. 1 nm)—from a thiophene unit via a selenophene unit to a tellurophene unit—to form PSSeTe, the first ABC-type regioregular and periodic poly(terchalcogenophene) comprising three different types of 3-hexylchalcogenophenes., Three unsymmetrical diiodobichalcogenophenes SSeI2, STeI2, and SeTeI2 and a diiodoterchalcogenophene SSeTeI2 were prepared to synthesize a new class of polychalcogenophenes with precisely controlled sequences by catalyst-transfer polycondensation.

Acceptor–donor–acceptor (A–D–A) non-fullerene electron acceptors (NFEAs) using ladder-type donor structures have become the dominant n-type materials for achieving high-efficiency OSCs. In this work, two isomeric fluorene-based ladder-type structures FCTT (TT-C-F-C-TT) and FTCT (T-C-TFT-C-T) have been designed and synthesized. These two isomeric donors with the different fused-ring arrangement, molecular geometry, and side-chain placement were end-capped with the FIC acceptors to form two NFEAs FCTT-FIC and FTCT-FIC isomeric materials. Compared to FTCT-FIC using the thiophene (T)-terminal donor, FCTT-FIC with the thienothiophene (TT)-terminal donor has more evenly distributed side chains on both sides of the backbone and less steric hindrance near the FIC acceptors, which enables stronger antiparallel π–π packing among the end-groups to create a channel for efficient electron transport, as evidenced by the thin-film GIWAXS measurements. FCTT-FIC displayed a larger optical bandgap and deeper-lying energy levels than its FTCT-FIC isomer. Compared to the PBDB-T:FTCT-FIC device, the PBDB-T:FCTT-FIC device showed a higher PCE of 10.32% with an enhanced Jsc of 19.63 mA cm−2 and an FF of 69.14%. A PM6:FCTT-FIC device using PM6 as a p-type polymer achieved the highest PCE of 12.23%. By introducing PC71BM as the second acceptor to enhance the absorption at shorter wavelengths, optimize the morphology and facilitate electron transport, the ternary-blend PM6:FCTT-FIC:PC71BM (1 : 1 : 0.5 in wt%) device yielded the highest PCE of 13.37% with a Voc of 0.92 V, a higher Jsc of 19.86 mA cm−2, and an FF of 73.2%. This result demonstrated that the TT-terminal ladder-type donor is generally a better molecular design than the corresponding T-terminal ladder-type isomer for the development of new A–D–A NFEAs.

We performed frequency-modulated (AC) and steady-state (DC) surface photovoltage spectroscopy (SPS) measurements on a bilayer structure consisting of an organic semiconductor (P3HT, P3HT:PC61BM, or...

A new zwitterionic small molecule 4-(dimethyl(pyridin-2-yl)ammonio)butane-1-sulfonate (PAS), synthesized from 2-dimethylaminopyrindine (2-DMAP), was developed for the ITO cathode modifier. PAS and 2-DMAP dissolved in methanol can form a thin layer on ITO cathode by a simple spin-coating process. The heteroatom moieties in 2-DMAP (sp2 and sp3 nitrogen) and PAS (sp2 nitrogen and sulfonate ion) can coordinate to the ITO surface and decrease the ITO work function by the induced surface dipoles. The fullerene-based (PBDTT-FTTE:PC71BM) inverted OSCs using PAS and 2-DMAP interlayer can achieve PCEs of 8.95 and 8.26%, respectively, which are superior to the devices without a modifier (PCE = 3.25%) and comparable to the corresponding ZnO-based device (PCE = 8.57%). Nevertheless, 2-DMAP, like other nitrogen-containing polymer interlayer materials, turns out to be not applicable to inverted organic solar cells (I-OSCs) with IT-4F as the n-type electron acceptor because the amino group of 2-DMAP can act as a nucleophile to attack the end-group of IT-4F at the interface. The decomposition of IT-4F by 2-DMAP was carefully proved to be via retro-aldol condensation. As a result, the device (PBDBT-F:IT-4F) modified with 2-DMAP displayed a low PCE of 7.34%. The zwitterionic PAS with reduced nucleophilicity and basicity can modify the ITO surface without decomposing IT-4F. The PBDBT-F:IT-4F-based device modified with PAS maintained a high PCE of 11.41%. Most importantly, the PAS-based device using the well-known Y6 acceptor (PBDBT-F:Y6) can achieve a PCE of 13.82%. This new interfacial material can be universally applied to I-OSCs employing various A-D-A-type acceptors installed with the electrophilic 1,1-dicyanamethylene-5,6-difluoro-3-indanone (FIC) end-group.

2-Alkyl(1)alkyl(2)-type aliphatic side chains with a branching point position at the C2-position (such as 2-ethylhexyl or 2-octayldodecyl) have been widely implanted into numerous donor–acceptor conjugated copolymers for solution processable transistors or organic solar cells. However, the tertiary branching site located at the second carbon inevitably imposes steric hindrance that twists the main-chain coplanarity and attenuates interchain interactions. In this research, we developed a new two-dimensonal thiophene–vinylene–thiophene (TVT) derivative where a carbon–carbon triple bond is inserted between the thiophene unit and the 2-octyldodecyl group. This acetylene-incorporated TVT (aTVT) was copolymerized with 5,10-di(thiophen-2-yl)naphtho[1,2-c:5,6-c′]bis([1,2,5]thiadiazole) (DTNT) and 5,6-difluoro-4,7-di(thiophen-2-yl)benzo[c][1,2,5]thiadiazole (DTFBT) to form the polymers PaTVT-NT and PaTVT-FBT, respectively. PTVT-FBT, without the triple bond, was also prepared for comparison. The insertion of a line...

A new thieno[3,2-b]thiophene-incorporated acceptor TTC has been developed. The TTC acceptor was installed in a haptacyclic ladder-type core (BDCPDT) to furnish an n-type BDCPDT-TTC. The standard PBDB-T:BDCPDT-IC device showed a PCE of 9.33% with a Voc of 0.86 V and a Jsc of 16.56 mA/cm2. By molecular engineering of the acceptor unit, the BDCPDT-TTC:PBDB-T-based device delivered an enhanced efficiency of 10.29% with a simultaneously enhanced Voc of 0.94 V and Jsc of 17.72 mA/cm2. Incorporation of the electron-donating thieno[3,2-b]thiophene unit into the acceptor moiety decreases the electron-accepting strength, thereby upshifting the HOMO/LUMO energy levels to decrease the ΔEHOMO and Eloss, achieving a larger Voc. Second, the extended conjugated bicyclic thieno[3,2-b]thiophene ring beneficially induces an additional optical transition at short wavelengths, leading to improvement of Jsc. Alternatively, BDCPDT-FIC installed with the fluorinated acceptor shows more red-shifted absorption to achieve a high Js...

Three selenophene-incorporated quaterchalcogenophene-based donor–acceptor copolymers PFBT2Th2Se, PFBT2Se2Th, and PFBT4Se are designed and synthesized. To systematically fine-tune the molecular properties and investigate the chalcogen effect, PFBT2Th2Se and PFBT2Se2Th hybridize two thiophenes and two selenophenes as the donor with different isomeric main-chain placement while thiophene-free PFBT4Se uses quaterselenophene as the donor. On account of the selenophene’s advantageous features such as higher quinoidal population and higher molecular polarizability, the three polymers show good light-harvesting ability, strong intermolecular interactions, high crystallinity, and high charge mobilities. Bulk-heterojunction solar cells incorporating these selenophene-containing polymers have exhibited promising photovoltaic performance with impressive current densities over 20 mA/cm2. The device with the PFBT2Se2Th:PC71BM blend showed a PCE of 9.02% with a Jsc of 21.02 mA/cm2. In addition, the device using quaterse...

In this research, a haptacyclic carbazole-based dithienocyclopentacarbazole (DTCC) ladder-type structure was formylated to couple with two 1,1-dicyanomethylene-3-indanone (IC) moieties, forming a new nonfullerene acceptor DTCCIC-C17 using a bulky branched 1-octylnonayl side chain at the nitrogen of the embedded carbazole and four 4-octylphenyl groups at the sp3-carbon bridges. The rigid and coplanar main-chain backbone of the DTCC core provides a broad light-absorbing window and a higher-lying LUMO energy level, whereas the bulky flanked side chains reduce intermolecular interactions, making DTCCIC-C17 amorphous with excellent solution processability. The DTCCIC-C17 as an acceptor is combined with a medium band gap polymer poly[(2,6-(4,8-bis(5-(2-ethylhexyl)thiophen-2-yl)-benzo[1,2-b:4,5-b′]dithiophene))-alt-(5,5-(1′,3′-di-2-thienyl-5′,7′-bis(2-ethylhexyl)benzo[1′,2′-c:4′,5′-c′]dithiophene-4,8-dione))] (PBDB-T) as the donor in the active layer to obtain suitable highest occupied molecular orbital/lowest u...

A formylated benzodi(cyclopentadithiophene) (BDCPDT) ladder-type structure with forced coplanarity is coupled with two 1,1-dicyanomethylene-3-indanone (IC) moieties via olefination to form a non-fullerene acceptor, BDCPDT-IC. The BDCPDT-IC, as an acceptor (A1) with broad light-absorbing ability and excellent solution processability, is combined with a second PC71BM acceptor (A2) and a medium band gap polymer, PBDB-T, as the donor (D) to form a ternary blend with gradient HOMO/LUMO energy alignments and panchromatic absorption. The device with the inverted architecture using the D:A1:A2 ternary blend has achieved a highest efficiency of 9.79% with a superior Jsc of 16.84 mA cm–2.

A systematic methodology is developed to construct the angular-shaped β-form naphthodithiophene (β-aNDT) core with regiospecific substitution of two alkyl groups at its 4,9- or 5,10-positions via the base-induced double 6π-cyclization of dithienyldieneyne precursors, leading to the two isomeric 4,9-β-aNDT and 5,10-β-aNDT monomers. It is found that a more curved geometry of the β-aNDT units intrinsically increases the solubility and thus the solution-processability of the resultant polymers. Therefore, β-aNDT units are ideal for polymerization with an acceptor-containing monomer without the need for any solubilizing aliphatic side chains, which are considered the insulating portion that jeopardizes charge transport. Based on this consideration, the 4,9- and 5,10-dialkylated β-aNDT monomers are polymerized with the non-alkylated DTFBT acceptor to afford two P4,9-βNDTDTFBT and P5,10-βNDTDTFBT copolymers for head-to-head comparison of the 4,9-inner/5,10-outer isomeric alkylation effect. It is found that 4,9-β-aNDT adopts a twisted conjugated structure due to the intramolecular steric repulsion between the inner branched side chains and the β-hydrogens on the thiophene rings. The slightly twisted 4,9-β-aNDT moiety allows P4,9-βNDTDTFBT to have higher solubility upon polymerization and thus a higher molecular weight, which eventually induces a higher ordered packing structure in the thin film compared to P5,10-βNDTDTFBT. As a result, P4,9-βNDTDTFBT exhibits a higher OFET mobility of 0.18 cm2 V−1 s−1, and the P4,9-βNDTDTFBT:PC71BM-based solar cell device also achieves a higher PCE of 7.23%, which is even better than the corresponding P4,9-αNDTDTFBT-based device.

In this research, we developed six new selenophene-incorporated naphthobisthiadiazole-based donor-acceptor polymers PNT2Th2Se-OD, PNT2Se2Th-OD, PNT4Se-OD, PNT2Th2Se-DT, PNT2Se2Th-DT, and PNT4Se-DT. The structure-property relationships have been systematically established through the comparison of their structural variations: (1) isomeric biselenophene/bithiophene arrangement between PNT2Th2Se and PNT2Se2Th polymers, (2) biselenophene/bithiophene and quarterselenophene donor units between PNT2Th2Se/PNT2Se2Th and PNT4Se polymers, and (3) side-chain modification between the 2-octyldodecylthiophene (OD)- and 2-decyltetradecyl (DT)-series polymers. The incorporation of selenophene units in the copolymers induces stronger charge transfer to improve the light-harvesting capability while maintaining the strong intermolecular interactions to preserve the intrinsic crystallinity for high carrier mobility. The organic field-effect transistor device using PNT2Th2Se-OD achieved a high hole mobility of 0.36 cm2 V-1 s-1 with an on/off ratio of 1.9 × 105. The solar cells with PNT2Th2Se-OD:PC71BM exhibited a power conversion efficiency of 9.47% with a Voc of 0.68 V, an fill factor of 67%, and an impressive Jsc of 20.69 mA cm-2.

Electrochromic devices (ECDs) play an important role in smart window applications for blocking heat from sunlight. Tungsten trioxide (WO3) is one of the best candidates for making electrochromic films. Current manufacturing processes are, however, costly, have long processing time, and often use non-eco-friendly precursors. Here an alternative facile method integrating electro-exploding wire and spray coating techniques is demonstrated for applications in large size ECDs. The electro-exploding wire technique is used to synthesize WO3 nanomaterials (NMs) in deionized water. The varied size distribution of WO3 NMs is achieved by changing the exploding voltage. The NMs are characterized by X-ray diffractometer (XRD), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). The exploding voltage of 36 V is selected to generate WO3 NMs in a wide size distribution for making porous WO3 films. Subsequently, spray coating is used to disperse WO3 NM suspension on the ITO/glass substrate to form an electrochromic film. The films are characterized by scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and by cycle voltammetry, chronoamperometry, and chronocoulometry measurements in dilute sulfuric acid. The WO3 NM films prepared at a high exploding voltage and a high substrate temperature present a higher electrochemical stability. Considering porosity and electrochemical stability, WO3 NMs exploded at 36 V are used to prepare WO3 films on substrates heated at 300 °C. The electrochromic WO3 film can be operated for over 1000 cycles. We demonstrate an ECD with an area of 15 × 15 cm2 and propose a way to make large size ECDs with low cost and eco-friendly processes.

A nonacylic building block TPTPT with the alternate thiophene and benzene subunits fastened by four bridging methylene groups was connected with various acceptors including diphenylquinoxaline ( QX ), thieno[3,4- c ]pyrrole-4,6(5H)-dione ( TPD ), thieno[3,4- b ]thiophene ( TT ) to afford donor-acceptor (D-A) alternating copolymers - PTPTPTQX , PTPTPTTPD , and PTPTPTTT and random copolymers - PTPTPTQX11 , PTPTPTQX12 , PTPTPTTPD11 , PTPTPTTPD12 , PTPTPTTT11 , and PTPTPTTT12 . The thermal, optical, and electrochemical properties of these copolymers were measured and compared. The random copolymers all have higher glass transition temperature ( T g ) than the corresponding alternating copolymers. ONIOM (our own n-layered integrated molecular orbital and molecular mechanics) calculations suggest that the increase of planarity in the random copolymers arises from the introduction of thiophene units intercalating between donor and acceptor moieties. Bulk heterojunction (BHJ) polymer solar cells (PSCs) were fabricated on the basis of ITO/PEDOT:PSS/polymer:PC 71 BM/Ca/Al device configuration. When the acceptor is QX or TPD , the resultant alternating copolymers performed superior than the random counterparts. When the acceptor is TT , the high content of TT seems to be harmful to the device efficiency, which may relate with the strong quinoidal character of the TT unit. Overall, for the TPTPT core structure, in the used acceptors, the alternating-copolymer arrangement appears to be a better construction manner for the purpose of BHJ PSC applications.

A new tetracyclic 4,9-dialkyl angular-shaped naphthodiselenophene (4,9-α-aNDS) was designed and synthesized. The naphthalene core in 4,9-α-aNDS is formed by the DBU-induced 6π-cyclization of an (E)-1,2-bis(3-(tetradec-1-yn-1-yl)selenophen-2-yl)ethene intermediate followed by the second PtCl2-catalyzed benzannulation. This synthetic protocol allows for incorporating two dodecyl groups regiospecifically at 4,9-positions of the resulting α-aNDS. An ordered supramolecular self-assembly formed via noncovalent selenium–selenium interactions with a short contact of 3.5 A was observed in the single-crystal structure of 4,9-α-aNDS. The distannylated α-aNDS building block was copolymerized with Br-DTFBT and Br-DPP acceptors by Stille cross coupling to form two new donor–acceptor polymers PαNDSDTFBT and PαNDSDPP, respectively. The bottom-gate/top-contact organic field-effect devices using the PαNDSDTFBT and PαNDSDPP semiconductors accomplished superior hole mobility of 3.77 and 2.17 cm2 V–1 s–1, respectively, which ...

Isomeric 2,8-distannyl 5,11-didodecyl αβ-TTN (1, tetrathienonaphthalene = TTN) and 2,8-didodecyl 5,11-distannyl αβ-TTN (2) have been designed and successfully synthesized. The naphthalene core structures in αβ-TTNs were constructed by a systematic protocol using PtCl2-catalyzed cyclization followed by oxidative Scholl annulation in good yields. Compared to the one-dimensional naphthodithiophene derivatives, the two-dimensional αβ-TTN molecules showed good solubility, extended conjugation, strong absorptivity, and highly coplanar structures. Compounds 1 and 2 were polymerized with a 5,5'-dibromo-2,2'-bithiophene-based monomer to afford 2,8-αβ-PTTNTT and 5,11-αβ-PTTNTT copolymers. 2,8-αβ-PTTNTT with the α-aNDT moiety in the main chain exhibited a higher hole mobility of 1.26 × 10(-2) cm(2) V(-1) s(-1).

We have designed and synthesized a tricyclic diseleno[3,2-b:2′,3′-d]silole (DSS) wherein the 3,3′-position of a biselenophene is bridged by a dioctylsilyl moiety. The distannylated DSS was copolymerized with a diketopyrrolopyrrole (DPP) acceptor to form a donor–acceptor copolymer PDSSDPP. The thiophene-based dithieno[3,2-b:2′,3′-d]silole (DTS) monomer and its corresponding copolymer PDTSDPP are also prepared as references for investigation of the chalcogen effect. Compared to PDTSDPP, PDSSDPP exhibits a more red-shifted absorption spectrum, a higher-lying HOMO energy level, and closer interchain packing associated with the more polarizable Se atom to induce stronger intermolecular interactions. The selenophene-based PDSSDPP shows a mobility of 2.47 × 10−2 cm2 V−1 s−1, which is nearly one order magnitude higher than the thiophene-based PDTSDPP with a mobility of 3.89 × 10−3 cm2 V−1 s−1. This result suggests that the DSS unit and its polymers are promising for OFET applications.

We present a facile synthesis method to make a new ladder-type heptacyclic dithienobenzofluorene (DTBF) framework, where the central 2,7-fluorene unit is covalently fastened with two external thiophenes via two CC bridges. A dieneyne-containing precursor undergoes DBU-induced double benzannulation to regiospecifically introduce two solubilizing 2-octyldodecyl side chains at 5,10-positions of DTBF. The rigid and coplanar Br-DTBF monomer with sufficient solubility was copolymerized with 5,6-difluoro-4,7-bis(5-(trimethylstannyl)thiophen-2-yl)benzo[c][1,2,5]thiadiazole (Sn-DTFBT) and 5,10-bis(5-(trimethylstannyl)thiophen-2-yl)naphtho[1,2-c:5,6-c′]bis([1,2,5]thiadiazole) (Sn-DTNT) via Stille coupling to furnish two donor–acceptor copolymers, PDTBFFBT and PDTBFNT, respectively. Their thermal, optical, electrochemical, molecular stacking and photovoltaic properties are investigated. PDTBFNT has a higher molecular weight, smaller optical and electrochemical band gaps, and stronger solid-state packing than PDTBFFBT. DFT calculations were carried out to gain insight into the electronic and structural properties of DTBF and its derivatives. Bulk heterojunction solar devices with the ITO/ZnO/polymers:PC71BM/MoO3/Ag configuration were fabricated. By adding 5 vol% diphenyl ether (DPE) as an additive, PDTBFNT:PC71BM and PDTBFFBT:PC71BM devices achieved the power conversion efficiencies of 5.22% and 2.68%, respectively. The superior efficiency of PDTBFNT over PDTBFFBT is attributed to the better LUMO energy alignment between PDTBFNT and PC71BM and the face-on π-stacking of PDTBFNT in the active layer. Moreover, PDTBFNT exhibited a higher field-effect transistor hole mobility of 1.90 × 10−2 cm2 V−1 s−1 than PDTBFFBT with a value of 3.96 × 10−3 cm2 V−1 s−1.

Non-conjugated triethylene glycol (3-EG), tetraethylene glycol (4-EG) and pentaethylene glycol (5-EG) are presented as new cathode modification materials to achieve high-performance inverted-PCSs. By spin-coating from a non-chlorinated solvent, these small molecules can self-assemble on ITO via surface coordination and hydrogen bonding to form an ultra-thin layer. Theoretical simulations reveal that the coordination of oxygen atoms in the EG molecules to indium moieties on the ITO surface is the major mechanism in inducing interfacial dipoles, thereby reducing the work function (WF) of ITO for efficient electron collection. Based on the PBDTTT-EFT:PC71BM blend, the bulk heterojunction device using the 5-EG layer exhibited a higher short-circuit current density (Jsc) of 15.27 mA cm−2, fill factor (FF) of 0.69, and power conversion efficiency (PCE) of 8.46%, which are better than those of the corresponding devices using either inorganic ZnO or non-conjugated poly(ethylene oxide) (PEO) as the cathode buffer layer. More importantly, this simple and expedited strategy is also demonstrated to be universally applicable to various p-type conjugated polymers. The EG oligomers with well-defined chemical structures have the advantages of easy availability, simple processability and good device reproducibility, which are crucial keys for future commercialization using large-scale roll-to-roll production.

Angular-shaped dialkyltetracenedithiophenes (aTDTs) undergo [4+4] photodimerization in solution to form a butterfly-shaped skeleton. This reaction proceeds in a regio- and stereo-selective manner, forming only a single planosymmetric syn-[2,2]-daTDT out of six possible products. The photocycloaddition of aTDTs can take place topochemically in the thin-film state while maintaining regio- and stereo-selectivity. Stronger aliphatic dispersion forces and π–π interactions play important roles in forming the eclipsed dimeric complex that leads to the syn-[2,2]-daTDT isomer.

An angular-shaped and isomerically pure 4,10-di(2-octyl)dodecylanthradiselenophene (aADS) was successfully developed. The expedient synthesis to form the framework of aADS with two lateral side chains regioselectively at its 4,10-positions is via a base-induced propargyl–allenyl isomerization/6π-electrocyclization/aromatization protocol. This pentacyclic distannylated aADS unit was then copolymerized with dithienyldiketopyrrolopyrrole (DPP) and dithienyl-5,6-difluoro-2,1,3-benzothiadiazole (DTFBT) acceptors with different alkyl side chains to afford four donor–acceptor copolymers: PaADSDPP, PaADSDTFBT-C4, PaADSDTFBT-C8, and PaADSDTFBT-C8C12. UV–vis spectroscopy and cyclic voltammetry revealed that PaADSDPP has the narrowest energy band gap, and PaADSDTFBT-C8C12 has larger band gap than PaADSDTFBT-C4 and PaADSDTFBT-C8. Two layer ONIOM (our own n-layered integrated molecular orbital and molecular mechanics) calculations were implemented to investigate the disparity in optical, electrochemical, and device pr...

Direct C–H arylation polymerization of 2-bromo-3-hexylselenophene and 2-bromo-3-hexylthiophene catalyzed by N-heterocyclic carbene (NHC) palladium-based and Pd(OAc)2-based systems has been carried out and investigated. Under the optimized conditions, high molecular weight poly(3-hexylthiohphene) (P3HT) (Mn = 26.9K g/mol) with high head-to-tail regioregularity (94%) can be obtained by using [1,3-bis(2,6-diisopropylphenyl)imidazol-2-ylidene]chloro[3-phenylallyl]palladium(II) (Pd-IPr) as the catalyst. Pd-IPr exhibits a wide range of working temperatures from 70 to 140 °C and good catalytic reproducibility as a result of its high thermal stability. It was found that the presence of additional phosphine ligand, such as tris(o-methoxyphenyl)phosphine, can increase the polymerization efficiency in the Pd(OAc)2 system. This improvement is linked to the stability enhancement for the active species during the course of catalysis. For the first time, poly(3-hexylselenophene) (P3HS) was also obtained by direct-arylat...

Although the tetracyclic angular-shaped naphthodithiophenes (aNDTs) derivatives are an emergent building block for constructing promising semiconductor conjugated polymers, the absence of aliphatic side chains as solubilizing groups on the aNDTs greatly restricted their further application toward polymer synthesis. To create a new class of aNDT-based polymers for widespread applications in solution-processable OFETs and PSCs, side-chain engineering of the aNDT-based structures plays a pivotal role in improving solubility and optimizing electronic/steric properties associated with the resultant solar cell characteristics. In this research, we developed an efficient and straightforward methodology to construct the angular naphthodithophene core with regiospecific introduction of two aliphatic chains at its 4,9-positions via a base-induced double 6π-cyclization. For the first time, the corresponding 2,7-distannylated-4,9-dialkylated aNDT monomers were polymerized with FBT and DPP acceptors to make two new Pa...

A triarylamine-based material DVTPD containing two styryl groups has been developed. Upon isothermal heating at 180 °C for 30 min, DVTPD can be thermally cross-linked to form a solvent-resistant layer to realize the fabrication of solution-processed multilayer devices. The crosslinked DVTPD (denoted as X-DVTPD) layer possesses not only hole-collecting ability (HOMO = −5.3 eV) but also electron-blocking capability (LUMO = −2.2 eV). By incorporation of an ionic dopant, 4-isopropyl-4′-methyldiphenyliodonium tetrakis(pentafluorophenylborate) (DPITPFB), into the X-DVTPD material (1 : 10 in wt%), a favourable morphology of the dopant/matrix layer was formed and the hole-mobility is significantly improved by three orders of magnitude compared to its non-doped state. This DPITPFB : X-DVTPD (1 : 10 in wt%) layer was employed as the hole-transporting layer to fabricate polymer solar cell devices (PSCs). The EHOMO of the polymer in the active layer relative to the EHOMO of the X-DVTPD (−5.3 eV) governs the hole transportation highly associated with the device performance. The higher-lying EHOMO (−5.0 eV) of P3HT causes a large energy barrier for the hole transportation at the interface, leading to an unsatisfactory efficiency. The EHOMO level of the PTB7 copolymer (−5.15 eV) is closer to −5.3 eV. As a result, the PTB7-based device can achieve 80% of the efficiency obtained from the corresponding PEDOT:PSS-based device. Furthermore, the PBDCPDTFBT copolymer has the same EHOMO (−5.3 eV) with X-DVTPD. Consequently, the PBDCPDTFBT-based device showed a comparable efficiency of 5.3% to the corresponding PEDOT:PSS-based device. More importantly, PNDTDTFBT having the lowest-lying EHOMO of −5.4 eV exhibits superior performance with a high PCE of 6.64%, outperforming its reference PEDOT:PSS-based device. This simple and useful hole-transporting system integrating the crosslinking and doping strategies to replace PEDOT:PSS can be widely used in solution-processed organic electronic devices.

Harvesting solar energy from sunlight to generate electricity is considered as one of the most important technologies to address the future sustainability of humans. Polymer solar cells (PSCs) have attracted tremendous interest and attention over the past two decades due to their potential advantage to be fabricated onto large area and light-weight flexible substrates by solution processing at a lower cost. PSCs based on the concept of bulk heterojunction (BHJ) configuration where an active layer comprises a composite of a p-type (donor) and an n-type (acceptor) material represents the most useful strategy to maximize the internal donor-acceptor interfacial area allowing for efficient charge separation. Fullerene derivatives such as [6,6]-phenyl-C61 or 71-butyric acid methyl ester (PCBM) are the ideal n-type materials ubiquitously used for BHJ solar cells. The major effort to develop photoactive materials is numerously focused on the p-type conjugated polymers which are generally synthesized by polymerization of electron-rich donor and electron-deficient acceptor monomers. Compared to the development of electron-deficient comonomers (acceptor segments), the development of electron-rich donor materials is considerably flourishing. Forced planarization by covalently fastening adjacent aromatic and heteroaromatic subunits leads to the formation of ladder-type conjugated structures which are capable of elongating effective conjugation, reducing the optical bandgap, promoting intermolecular π-π interactions and enhancing intrinsic charge mobility. In this review, we will summarize the recent progress on the development of various well-defined new ladder-type conjugated materials. These materials serve as the superb donor monomers to prepare a range of donor-acceptor semi-ladder copolymers with sufficient solution-processability for solar cell applications.

We have developed a new germanium-bridged heptacyclic arene, dithienogermolocarbazole (DTGC), in which two outer thiophene subunits are covalently fastened to the central 2,7-carbazole core by two dibutylgermanium bridges. The germole moieties embedded in the DTGC structure were successfully constructed by one-pot nucleophilic cyclization in a high yield of 88%. Because of the relatively lower polarity of carbon–germanium bonds, the DTGC unit is chemically stable under basic conditions, rendering its more versatile functionalization. Comparison of germanium-bridged DTGC with the carbon-bridged DTCC (dithienocyclopentacarbazole) and silicon-bridged DTSC (dithienosilolocarbazole) analogues reveals that the HOMO energy level of DTGC lies between those of DTCC and DTSC and so does the LUMO energy level of DTGC. Density functional theory (DFT) calculations suggest that DTSC and DTGC have more bent structures than DTCC, which plays an important role in determining their frontier orbital energies. The structural...

A new PC61BM-based fullerene, [6,6]-phenyl-C61 butyric acid pentafluorophenyl ester (PC61BPF) is designed and synthesized. This new n-type material can replace PC61BM to form a P3HT:PC61BPF binary blend or serve as an additive to form a P3HT:PC61BM:PC61BPF ternary blend. Supramolecular attraction between the pentafluorophenyl group of PC61BPF and the C60 cores of PC61BPF/PC61BM can effectively suppress the PC61BPF/PC61BM materials from severe aggregation. By doping only 8.3 wt% PC61BPF, device PC61BPF651 exhibits a PCE of 3.88% and decreases slightly to 3.68% after heating for 25 h, preserving 95% of its original value. When PC61BP with non-fluorinated phenyl group is used to substitute PC61BPF, the stabilizing ability disappears completely. The efficiencies of PC61BP651 and PC61BP321 devices significantly decay to 0.44% and 0.11%, respectively, after 25 h isothermal heating. Most significantly, this strategy is demonstrated to be effective for a blend system incorporating a low band-gap polymer. By adding only 10 wt% PC61BPF, the PDTBCDTB:PC71BM-based device exhibits thermally stable morphology and device characteristics. These findings demonstrate that smart utilization of supramolecular interactions is an effective and practical strategy to control morphological evolution.

A new strategy to synthesize 4,9- and 5,10-dialkylated α-aNDTs as well as 4,9- and 5,10-dialkylated β-aNDTs is described. Four isomeric precursors with different dithienyl-ene-diyne arrangements undergo base-induced double 6π-cyclization to construct the central naphthalene cores, leading to the formation of the regiospecific products. These 2,7-distannylated dialkylated aNDT-based monomers can be used for Stille cross-coupling to produce promising conjugated materials for various optoelectronic applications.

A pentacyclic indacenodiselenophene (IDS) arene was synthesized via intramolecular Friedel-Craft cyclization of the selenophene moieties. This IDS framework was used as a model system to investigate the alkyl/alkoxy side-chain effect by preparing IDS-OCH8 and IDS-C6, where the side chains on the sp3 carbon in the cyclopentadienyl ring are 4-octyloxyphenyl groups and 4-hexylphenyl groups, respectively. The Sn-IDS-OCH8 and Sn-IDS-C6 monomers were copolymerized with 4,7-dibromo-2,1,3-benzothiadiazole (BT), 4,7-diiodo-5,6-difluoro-2,1,3-benzothiadiazole (FBT) and 1,3-dibromothieno[3,4-c]pyrrole-4,6-dione (TPD) acceptor monomers by Stille polycondensation to afford five new IDS-based donor–acceptor alternating copolymers, PIDSBT-OCH8, PIDSBT-C6, PIDSFBT-OCH8, PIDSFBT-C6, and PIDSTPD-C6. Despite the fact that the octyloxy and hexyl side chains play a negligible role in the optical and electrochemical properties of the resulting polymers, the solar cell performance is highly associated with the side chains of th...

The versatility of a fl uoro-containing low band-gap polymer, poly[2,6-(4,4bis(2-ethylhexyl)-4H-cyclopenta[2,1-b;3,4-b’]dithiophene)-alt-4,7-(5-fl uoro2,1,3-benzothia-diazole)] (PCPDTFBT) in organic photovoltaics (OPVs) applications is demonstrated. High boiling point 1,3,5-trichlorobenzene (TCB) is used as a solvent to manipulate PCPDTFBT:[6,6]-phenyl-C 71 -butyric acid methyl ester (PC 71 BM) active layer morphology to obtain high-performance single-junction devices. It promotes the crystallization of PCPDTFBT polymer, thus improving the charge-transport properties of the active layer. By combining the morphological manipulation with interfacial optimization and device engineering, the single-junction device exhibits both good air stability and high power-conversion effi ciency (PCE, of 6.6%). This represents one of the highest PCE values for cyclopenta[2,1-b;3,4-b’]dithiophene (CPDT)-based OPVs. This polymer is also utilized for constructing semitransparent solar cells and double-junction tandem solar cells to demonstrate high PCEs of 5.0% and 8.2%, respectively.

Indolo[3,2-b]indole, containing two fused indole units, is an unexplored but promising electron-rich molecule for constructing donor–acceptor materials due to its planar, symmetric, and extended conjugated structure. We have successfully developed a new synthetic pathway to prepare 2,7-diboronic ester-indolo[3,2-b]indole, which was then reacted with dithienodiketopyrrolo-pyrrole acceptor to afford a new acceptor–donor–acceptor (A–D–A) conjugated molecule, 2,7-bis(dithienodiketopyrrolo-pyrrole)indolo[3,2-b]indole (2,7-DPPIIDPP). II is used to stand for indolo[3,2-b]indole in order to emphasize that this compound is constructed from two indole units. The A–D–A linkage through the 2,7-positions of II not only preserves the phenylene units in the para-conjugation but also renders stronger electron-donating strength. This material exhibited good thermal stability, high crystallinity, and broad UV/Vis absorption. The solution-processed bulk heterojunction device using the configuration of ITO/PEDOT:PSS/2,7-DPPIIDPP:PC71BM/Ca/Al exhibited a Voc of 0.72 V, a Jsc of 6.88 mA/cm2, and an FF of 49.6 %, leading to a power conversion efficiency (PCE) of 2.45 %.

A new cross-linkable fullerene material, bis(2-(trichlorosilyl)propyl)-malonate C60 (TSMC), functionalized with two trichlorosilane groups, was easily synthesized by Pt-catalyzed olefin hydrosilylation. By making use of facile hydrolysis of the trichlorosilyl moieties, TSMC can be spontaneously self-assembled and cross-linked on the TiOx surface by a simple spin-coating processing without the aid of photoirradiation or post-thermal treatments. The rapid formation of self-assembled and cross-linked TSMC (SA-C-TSMC) effectively passivates the residual hydroxyl groups on the TiOx surface. More significantly, the solvent-resistant TSMC network features a nanostructured surface to provide extra charge-generating interfacial area and straight electron transport pathways. The device (ITO/TiOx/SA-C-TSMC/P3HT:PC61BM (1:1, w/w)/PEDOT:PSS/Ag) with this C60 interlayer exhibited an efficiency of 3.9% which greatly outperformed the device without this layer. Furthermore, the strategy can also be effectively applied to ...

A new polymer PDTFDPP20 based on dithieno[3,2-b:6,7-b′]fluorene (DTF) unit was developed. This polymer with a face-on orientation has achieved a high field-effect mobility up to 5 cm2 V–1 s–1., A ladder-type dithieno[3,2-b:6,7-b′]fluorene (DTF), where the central fluorene is fused with two outer thiophene rings at its 2,3- and 6,7-junctions, is developed. The pentacyclic DTF monomers were polymerized with dithienodiketopyrrolopyrrole (DPP) acceptors to afford three alternating donor–acceptor copolymers PDTFDPP16, PDTFDPP20, and PDTFDPP32 incorporating different aliphatic side chains (R1 group at DTF; R2 group at the DPP moieties). The side-chain variations in the polymers play a significant role in determining not only the intrinsic molecular properties but also the intermolecular packing. As evidenced by the 2-dimensional GIXS measurements, PDTFDPP16 with octyl (R1) and 2-ethylhexyl (R2) side chains tends to align in an edge-on π-stacking orientation, whereas PDTFDPP20 using 2-butyloctyl (R1) and 2-ethylhexyl (R2) adopts a predominately face-on orientation. PDTFDPP32 with the bulkiest 2-butyloctyl (R1) and 2-octyldodecyl (R2) side chains shows a less ordered amorphous character. The OFET device using PDTFDPP20 with a face-on orientation determined by GIXS measurements achieved a high hole-mobility of up to 5 cm2 V–1 s–1. The high rigidity and coplanarity of the DTF motifs play an important role in facilitating intramolecular 1-dimensional charge transport within the polymer backbones. The implementation of main-chain coplanarity and side-chain engineering strategies in this research provides in-depth insights into structure–property relationships for guiding development of high-mobility OFET polymers.

A new class of heptacyclic ladder-type terbenzodithiophene (TBDT) structures merging three fused benzodithophenes was developed. Two TBDT conjugated isomers, named as syn-TBDT and anti-TBDT, where the two thienyl rings in the outmost BDT units are in the syn- and anti-fashion, are designed. Two decyl groups are introduced to their 6,13 and 7,14-positions to form four isomeric 6,13-syn-TBDT, 7,14-syn-TBDT, 6,13-anti-TBDT, and 7,14-anti-TBDT structures which are constructed by the DBU-induced 6-benzannulation involving propargyl-allenyl isomerization of the dieneyne moieties in the corresponding precursors followed by 6π-electrocyclization/aromatization, while isomeric TD-syn-TBDT and TD-anti-TBDT with four decyl groups substituted at 6,7,13,14-positions are synthesized via palladium-catalyzed dialkylacetylene insertion/C-H arylation of the corresponding iodobiaryl precursors. The intrinsic properties can be modulated by molecular manipulation of the main-chain and side-chain isomeric structures. anti-TBDT derivatives exhibit higher melting points, larger bandgaps, stronger intermolecular interactions, and higher mobility than the corresponding syn-TBDT analogues. These molecules can be further utilized as building blocks to make various TBDT-based materials for optoelectronic applications.

We have developed a new multifused indacenodithieno[3,2-b]thiophene arene (IDTT) unit where the central phenylene is covalently fastened with the two outer thieno[3,2-b]thiophene (TT) rings, forming two cyclopentadiene rings embedded in a heptacyclic structure. This rigid and coplanar IDTT building block was copolymerized with electron-deficient acceptors, 4,7-dibromo-2,1,3-benzothiadiazole (BT), 4,7-dibromo-5,6-difluoro-2,1,3-benzothiadiazole (FBT) and 1,3-dibromo-thieno[3,4-c]pyrrole-4,6-dione (TPD) via Stille polymerization, respectively. Because the higher content of the thienothiophene moieties in the fully coplanar IDTT structure facilitates π-electron delocalization, these new polymers show much improved light-harvesting abilities and enhanced charge mobilities compared to PDITTBT copolymer using hexacyclic diindenothieno[3,2-b]thiophene (DITT) as the donor moieties. The device using PIDTTBT:PC71BM (1:4, w/w) exhibited a decent power conversion efficiency (PCE) of 3.8%. Meanwhile, the solar cell us...

We have developed a new heptacyclic benzodi(cyclopentadithiophene) (BDCPDT) unit, where 3,7-positions of the central benzo[1,2-b:4,5-b′]dithiophenes (BDT) subunit are covalently rigidified with 3-positons of the two external thiophenes by two carbon bridges, forming two external CPDT rings that share two thiophene rings with the central BDT core. The distannyl-BDCPDT building block was copolymerized with 1,3-dibromo-thieno[3,4-c]pyrrole-4,6-dione (TPD) by Stille polymerization to afford a new alternating donor–acceptor copolymer PBDCPDT-TPD. The implementation of forced planarization greatly suppresses the interannular twisting to extend the effective conjugated length and preserve the interactions between the donor and acceptor segments. The device using the PBDCPDT-TPD/PC71BM (1:3 in wt%) blend processed with dimethyl sulfoxide as an additive delivered a marked PCE of 6.6% which represents a significant enhancement compared to the device using the corresponding nonfused polymer analogue with a PCE of 0.2%.

An isomerically pure anti-anthradithiophene (aADT) arranged in an angular shape is developed. Formation of the framework of aADT incorporating four lateral alkyl substituents was accomplished by a one-pot benzannulation via multiple Suzuki coupling. This newly designed 2,8-stannylated aADT monomer was copolymerized with a ditheniodiketopyrrolopyrrole (DPP) unit and a bithiophene unit, respectively, to furnish an alternating donor–acceptor copolymer poly(anthradithiophene-alt-dithienyldiketopyrrolopyrrole) (PaADTDPP) and a thiophene-rich poly(anthradithiophene-alt-bithiophene) (PaADTT). PaADTT with crystalline nature achieved a high FET mobility of 7.9 × 10–2 cm2 V–1 s–1 with an on–off ratio of 1.1 × 107. The photovoltaic device based on the PaADTDPP:PC71BM (1:2.5, w/w) blend exhibited a Voc of 0.66 V, a Jsc of 9.49 mA/cm2, and a FF of 58.4%, delivering a power conversion efficiency (PCE) of 3.66%. By adding 1.5 vol % 1-chloronaphthalene (CN) as a processing additive, the PCE can be improved to 4.24%. We d...

We have developed two nitrogen-bridged pentacyclic donor–acceptor dithienopyrrolobenzothiadiazole (DTPBT) and dithienopyrroloquinoxaline (DTPQX) arenes where the two outer electron-rich thiophene moieties are covalently fastened with the central electron-deficient benzothiadiazole and quinoxaline cores by two nitrogen bridges. These rigid and coplanar DTPBT and DTPQX building blocks were copolymerized with fluorene (F), carbazole (C) and cyclopentadithiophene (CPDT) units via Suzuki or Stille coupling polymerization to afford six new alternating copolymers PFDTPBT, PCDTPBT, PCPDTDTPBT, PFDTPQX, PCDTPQX and PCPDTDTPQX, respectively. The nitrogen bridges not only planarize the structure to induce stronger intermolecular π–π interaction but also play an important role in determining the electronic and photophysical properties of the polymers. The device based on PFDTPQX/PC71BM (1:4, w/w) exhibited a open-circuit voltage (Voc) of 0.72 V, a short-circuit current (Jsc) of 8.62 mA/cm2 and a FF of 0.55 leading to...

A new class of ladder-type dithienosilolo-carbazole (DTSC), dithienopyrrolo-carbazole (DTPC), and dithienocyclopenta-carbazole (DTCC) units is developed in which two outer thiophene subunits are covalently fastened to the central 2,7-carbazole cores by silicon, nitrogen, and carbon bridges, respectively. The heptacyclic multifused monomers are polymerized with the benzothiadiazole (BT) acceptor by palladium-catalyzed cross-coupling to afford three alternating donor-acceptor copolymers poly(dithienosilolo-carbazole-alt-benzothiadiazole) (PDTSCBT), poly(dithienocyclopenta-carbazole-alt-benzothiadiazole) (PDTCCBT), and poly(dithienopyrrolo-carbazole-alt-benzothiadiazole) (PDTPCBT). The silole units in DTSC possess electron-accepting ability that lowers the highest occupied molecular orbital (HOMO) and lowest unoccupied molecular orbital (LUMO) energy levels of PDTSCBT, whereas stronger electron-donating ability of the pyrrole moiety in DTPC increases the HOMO and LUMO energy levels of PDTPCBT. The optical bandgaps (Egopt) deduced from the absorption edges of thin film spectra are in the following order: PDTSCBT (1.83 eV) > PDTCCBT (1.64 eV) > PDTPCBT (1.50 eV). This result indicated that the donor strength of the heptacyclic arenes is in the order: DTPC > DTCC > DTSC. The devices based on PDTSCBT and PDTCCBT exhibited high hole mobilities of 0.073 and 0.110 cm2 V−1 s−1, respectively, which are among the highest performance from the OFET devices based on the amorphous donor-acceptor copolymers. The bulk heterojunction photovoltaic device using PDTSCBT as the p-type material delivered a promising efficiency of 5.2% with an enhanced open circuit voltage, Voc, of 0.82 V.

A ladder-type nonacyclic thienyl-phenylene-thienylene-phenylene-thienyl TPTPT unit, consisting of alternate interfused thiophene and benzene units, is designed and synthesized. This multifused distannyl-TPTPT monomer was polymerized with two electron-deficient acceptors, 4,7-dibromo-2,1,3-benzothiadiazole BT and 5,8-dibromo-2,3-diphenylquinoxaline QX monomers, by Stille coupling reaction to afford two alternating donor–acceptor copolymers, PTPTPTBT and PTPTPTQX, respectively. Because of the covalent planarization of the conjugated framework, PTPTPTBT simultaneously possess excellent solubilities for solution-processability, low bandgaps with suitable position of HOMO/LUMO energy levels, and high hole mobilities. The devices based on the PTPTPTBT/PC71BM blend not only showed a promising PCE of 5.3% with conventional configuration but also achieved a high PCE of 5.9% with inverted configuration. This value is among the highest performance from the inverted solar cells incorporating a donor–acceptor low band...

We have developed a ladder-type multifused thienyl–phenylene–thienylene–phenylene–thienyl (TPTPT) unit where each thiophene ring is covalently fastened with the adjacent benzene rings by a carbon b...

A new class of fullerene bis-adducts—di(4-methylphenyl)methano-C60 bis-adduct (DMPCBA), di(4-fluorophenyl)methano-C60 bis-adduct (DFPCBA), and diphenylmethano-C60 bis-adduct (DPCBA)—were rationally designed and easily synthesized. Compared to the lowest unoccupied molecular orbital (LUMO) energy level of PC61BM (−3.95 eV), the double functionalization effectively raises the LUMO energy levels of these fullerene materials to ca. −3.85 eV, regardless of the substituent groups (CH3–, F–, and H−) at the para-position of the phenyl rings. This phenomenon suggests that the plane of the phenyl groups is preferentially parallel to the fullerene surface, leading to poor orbital interactions with C60 and negligible electronic effect. Importantly, such geometry sterically protects and shields the core C60 structure from severe intermolecular aggregation, rendering it intrinsically soluble, morphologically amorphous, and thermally stable. The device based on the P3HT:DMPCBA blend exhibited an open-circuit voltage (Vo...