Isoindigo-3,4-Difluorothiophene Polymer Acceptors Yield "All-Polymer" Bulk-Heterojunction Solar Cells with over 7 % Efficiency

Shengjian Liu; Yuliar Firdaus; Simil Thomas; Zhipeng Kan; Federico Cruciani; Sergei Lopatin; Jean-Luc Bredas; Pierre M Beaujuge

doi:10.1002/anie.201709509

Isoindigo-3,4-Difluorothiophene Polymer Acceptors Yield "All-Polymer" Bulk-Heterojunction Solar Cells with over 7 % Efficiency

Angew Chem Int Ed Engl. 2018 Jan 8;57(2):531-535. doi: 10.1002/anie.201709509. Epub 2017 Dec 6.

Authors

Shengjian Liu¹, Yuliar Firdaus¹, Simil Thomas², Zhipeng Kan¹, Federico Cruciani¹, Sergei Lopatin³, Jean-Luc Bredas², Pierre M Beaujuge¹

Affiliations

¹ Physical Science and Engineering Division, Solar & Photovoltaics Engineering Research Center (SPERC), King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST), Thuwal, 23955-6900, Saudi Arabia.
² School of Chemistry and Biochemistry, Center for Organic Photonics and Electronics (COPE), Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, GA, 30332-0400, USA.
³ Imaging and Characterization Core Lab, King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST), Thuwal, 23955-6900, Saudi Arabia.

PMID: 29154413
DOI: 10.1002/anie.201709509

Abstract

Poly(isoindigo-alt-3,4-difluorothiophene) (PIID[2F]T) analogues used as "polymer acceptors" in bulk-heterojunction (BHJ) solar cells achieve >7 % efficiency when used in conjunction with the polymer donor PBFTAZ (model system; copolymer of benzo[1,2-b:4,5-b']dithiophene and 5,6-difluorobenzotriazole). Considering that most efficient polymer-acceptor alternatives to fullerenes (e.g. PC₆₁ BM or its C₇₁ derivative) are based on perylenediimide or naphthalenediimide motifs thus far, branched alkyl-substituted PIID[2F]T polymers are particularly promising non-fullerene candidates for "all-polymer" BHJ solar cells.

Keywords: 3,4-difluorothiophene; all-polymer solar cells; isoindigo; polymer acceptors; solar cells.

Publication types

Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't