Search

International audience

Four new conjugated polymers alternating benzothiadiazole units and thiophene moieties functionalized with ionic phosphonium or sulfonic acid salts in the side chains were synthesized by a postfunctionalization approach of polymeric precursors. The introduction of ionic groups makes the conjugated polymers soluble in water and/or polar solvents, allowing for the fabrication of bulk heterojunction (BHJ) solar cells using environmentally friendly conditions. All polymers were fully characterized by spectroscopic, thermal, electrochemical, X-ray diffraction, scanning electron, and atomic force techniques. BHJ solar cells were obtained from halogen-free solvents (i.e., ethanol and/or anisole) by blending the synthesized ionic push–pull polymers with a serinol-fullerene derivative or an ionic homopolymer acting as electron-acceptor (EA) or electron-donor (ED) counterparts, respectively. The device with the highest optical density and the smoothest surface of the active layer was the best-performing, showing a 4.76% photoconversion efficiency.

In the present work, we have undertaken the study of the n-doping process in poly-3,3″-didodecyl-2,2′:5′,2″-terthiophene (poly-33″-DDTT) employing the electrochemical quartz crystal microbalance (EQCM). The present study aims at understanding how cathodic charge in n-doped poly-33″-DDTT is compensated. For this purpose, the in situ analysis of the variations of the polymeric mass has been considered. Poly-33″-DDTT was obtained as a thin coating onto a metallic substrate via the anodic coupling of the corresponding monomer 3,3″-didodecyl-2,2′:5′,2″-terthiophene (33″-DDTT). When subjected to electrochemical n-doping in the polarization interval -2.5 ≤ Eappl ≤ 0 V vs. Ag/Ag+, the films of poly-33″-DDTT varied their mass according to a mechanism of cations insertion during n-doping and cations extraction during polymer neutralization. In fact, the electrochemical doping of polythiophenes requires the accompanying exchange of charged species to maintain the electroneutrality within the structure of the polymer in all states of polarization. At the end of a full electrochemical cycle (consisting of the n-doping and the successive neutralization of poly-33″-DDTT), the polymer retains a fraction of the mass acquired during n-doping, thus manifesting the phenomena of mass trapping. The combined analysis of electrochemical and microgravimetric data suggests that poly-33″-DDTT in the n-doped state undergoes (or electrocatalyzes) uncontrolled electrochemical reactions that are not accompanied by mass variations.

A new side-chain C60-fullerene functionalized thiophene copolymer bearing tributylphosphine-substituted hexylic lateral groups was successfully synthesized by means of a fast and effective post-polymerization reaction on a regioregular ω-alkylbrominated polymeric precursor. The growth of the polymeric intermediate was followed by NMR spectrometry in order to determine the most convenient reaction time. The obtained copolymer was soluble in water and polar solvents and was used as a photoactive layer in single-material organic photovoltaic (OPV) solar cells. The copolymer photovoltaic efficiency was compared with that of an OPV cell containing a water-soluble polythiophenic homopolymer, functionalized with the same tributylphosphine-substituted hexylic side chains, in a blend with a water-soluble C60-fullerene derivative. The use of a water-soluble double-cable copolymer made it possible to enhance the control on the nanomorphology of the active blend, thus reducing phase-segregation phenomena, as well as the macroscale separation between the electron acceptor and donor components. Indeed, the power conversion efficiency of OPV cells based on a single material was higher than that obtained with the classical architecture, involving the presence of two distinct ED and EA materials (PCE: 3.11% vs. 2.29%, respectively). Moreover, the synthetic procedure adopted to obtain single material-based cells is more straightforward and easier than that used for the preparation of the homopolymer-based BHJ solar cell, thus making it possible to completely avoid the long synthetic pathway which is required to prepare water-soluble fullerene derivatives.

The material produced through the electrochemical polymerization of 3′4′-DDTT has been characterized with the EQCM during the process of n-doping. The supporting electrolyte (SE) was chosen considering mainly the two characteristics of hydrophobicity (to avoid the presence of water as potential contaminant) and chemical affinity with the alkyl and aromatic moieties present in poly-3′4′-DDTT. On these bases the salt (n-C4H9)4NClO4 was selected as SE since it contains the organic molecular cation (n-C4H9)4N+ that is expected to represent the charge compensating species in poly-3′4′-DDTT during n-doping. The feature of the reversibility of the electrical current profiles originated by the process of injection/extraction of electronic charge carriers in poly-3′4′-DDTT, is not encountered in the associated EQCM data. The interpretation of the EQCM data requires the consideration of phenomena of different nature. In the present work a thorough discussion of the factors influencing the EQCM response during polymer n-doping is provided taking into account the spontaneous adsorption of cations, the eventual reorientation of poly-3′4′-DDTT on the substrate and the consequences of the chains rearrangement on the electrical polarizability of poly-3′4′-DDTT during the cycles of electrochemical n-doping and undoping.

Main chain conjugated linear polymers, constituted by alternating electron-donor (D) and -acceptor (A) moieties, have been prepared with the aim of testing their performances as photoactive components in single material organic solar cells (SMOSCs). The D moiety is constituted by bithiophene co-units bearing in the position 3 of the thiophene ring an hexyloxy, a hexyloxymethyl or a hexyl group, while the A moiety is represented by the benzothiadiazole group. The D-A polymers were obtained in high yield through the poorly demanding oxidative FeCl3 polymerization process - starting, respectively, from the related precursors 4,7-bis(3- hexyloxythiophen-2-yl)benzo[c][2,1,3]thiadiazole, 4,7-bis[3-(6-methoxyhexyl)thiophen-2- yl]benzo[c][2,1,3]thiadiazole and 4,7-bis(3-hexylthiophen-2-yl)benzo[c][2,1,3]thiadiazole - with low dispersity indexes, close to the monodisperse state, after fractionation with methanol. The materials have been thoroughly characterized for their physical and structural properties and then tested for photoconversion efficiency in SMOSCs by using different deposition procedures of the photoactive component. In agreement with Kelvin probe force microscopy (KPFM) measurements, the best photovoltaic performance was observed for the polymer based on conjugated 3-alkoxythiophene and benzothiadiazole moieties, achieving significant photocurrents for this type of fully conjugated alternating D-A structures (Jsc = 2.63-3.72 mA cm-2).

Novel A-B-A triblock copolymers based on poly(L-lactic acid) (PLLA) were designed with an ad hoc chemical structure to prepare micro- and nanoparticles for controlled drug delivery. A block is formed by PLLA, while central B block is a copolymeric system based on poly(butylene succinate) and poly(triethylene succinate): more specifically, two copolymers with fix composition (50:50 mol:mol) and different molecular architecture were synthesized. One of them is characterized by a block architecture, i.e. long butylene succinate and triethylene succinate sequences form the macromolecular chains, the other being on the contrary a random copolymer with short sequences. The so-obtained materials were characterized from the molecular and thermal point of view. Moreover, to investigate the effect of both chemical structure and molecular architecture of the polymers synthesized on drug release kinetics, Dexamethasone-encapsulated micro- and nanoparticles were prepared by oil-in-water miniemulsion technique. These particles were subjected to thermal and morphological characterization. After that, drug release studies were carried out, and the effect of chemical composition, sequence distribution and particle size on release profile was evaluated. (C) 2020 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.