Twisted but conjugated: building blocks for low bandgap polymers

Here we report a novel twisted monomer based on a distorted CC double bond for low bandgap conjugated copolymers. This new building block provides several unique characteristics when compared to classical planar systems such as high solubility, electron accepting ability, and isomeric tunability. The resulting copolymers exhibit broad absorption spanning both visible and near-infrared regions leading to promising solar cell performance.