Synthesis and characterization of thieno[3,2‐b]thiophene‐isoindigo‐based copolymers as electron donor and hole transport materials for bulk‐heterojunction polymer solar cells

A novel class of thieno[3,2‐b]thiophene (TT) and isoindigo based copolymers were synthesized and evaluated as electron donor and hole transport materials in bulk‐heterojunction polymer solar cells (BHJ PSCs). These π‐conjugated donor‐acceptor polymers were derived from fused TT and isoindigo structures bridged by thiophene units. The band‐gaps and the highest occupied molecular orbital (HOMO) levels of the polymers were tuned using different conjugating lengths of thiophene units on the main chains, providing band‐gaps from 1.55 to 1.91 eV and HOMO levels from ?5.34 to ?5.71 eV, respectively. The corresponding lowest unoccupied molecular orbital (LUMO) levels were appropriately adjusted with the isoindigo units. Conventional BHJ PSCs (ITO/PEDOT:PSS/active layer/interlayer/Al) with an active layer composed of the polymer and PC₇₁BM were fabricated for evaluation. Power conversion efficiency from a low of 1.25% to a high of 4.69% were achieved with the best performing device provided by the D?π?A polymer with a relatively board absorption spectrum, high absorption coefficient, and more uniform blend morphology. These results demonstrate the potential of this class of thieno[3,2‐b]thiophene‐isoindigo‐based polymers as efficient electron donor and hole transport polymers for BHJ PSCs. © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part A: Polym Chem, 2013     

Synthesis and photovoltaic behaviors of narrow‐band‐gap π‐conjugated polymers composed of dialkoxybenzodithiophene‐ and thiophene‐based fused aromatic rings

π‐Conjugated polymers, PBDT‐CNETT and PBDT‐CNECPDT , were prepared by the Stille cross‐coupling polymerization. Optical and thermal properties of the obtained polymers were investigated by UV–vis spectroscopy and thermogravimetric analysis. PBDT‐CNETT and PBDT‐CNECPDT exhibited very narrow band gaps of 1.39 and 1.13 eV, respectively. Highest occupied molecular orbital energy levels estimated by surface analyzer were ?5.17 and ?5.11 eV for PBDT‐CNETT and PBDT‐CNECPDT , respectively. The solar cells based on these polymers were evaluated with the cell configuration of ITO/PEDOT‐PSS/polymer:PC₆₁BH/LiF/Al. The power conversion efficiencies of the solar cells were estimated to be 1.57 and 0.16% for PBDT‐CNETT and PBDT‐CNECPDT , respectively. © 2011 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part A: Polym Chem, 2011     

Synthesis and photovoltaic properties of 2,6‐bis(2‐thienyl) benzobisazole and 4,8‐bis(thienyl)‐benzo[1,2‐B:4,5‐B′]dithiophene copolymers

In an effort to design efficient low‐cost polymers for use in organic photovoltaic cells the easily prepared donor–acceptor–donor triad of a either cis‐benzobisoxazole, trans‐benzobisoxazole or trans‐benzobisthiazole flanked by two thiophene rings was combined with the electron‐rich 4,8‐bis(5‐(2‐ethylhexyl)‐thien‐2‐yl)‐benzo[1,2‐b:4,5‐b′]dithiophene. The electrochemical, optical, morphological, charge transport, and photovoltaic properties of the resulting terpolymers were investigated. Although the polymers differed in the arrangement and/or nature of the chalcogens, they all had similar highest occupied molecular orbital energy levels (?5.2 to ?5.3 eV) and optical band gaps (2.1–2.2 eV). However, the lowest unoccupied molecular orbital energy levels ranged from ?3.1 to ?3.5 eV. When the polymers were used as electron donors in bulk heterojunction photovoltaic devices with PC₇₁BM ([6,6]‐phenyl C₇₁‐butyric acid methyl ester) as the acceptor, the trans‐benzobisoxazole polymer had the best performance with a power conversion efficiency of 2.8%. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Polym. Sci., Part A: Polym. Chem. 2016 , 54, 316–324     

Synthesis and applications of cyano‐vinylene‐based polymers containing cyclopentadithiophene and dithienosilole units for photovoltaic cells

Two β‐cyano‐thiophenevinylene‐based polymers containing cyclopentadithiophene ( CPDT‐CN ) and dithienosilole ( DTS‐CN ) units were synthesized via Stille coupling reaction with Pd(PPh₃)₄ as a catalyst. The effects of the bridged atoms (C and Si) and cyano‐vinylene groups on their thermal, optical, electrochemical, charge transporting, and photovoltaic properties were investigated. Both polymers possessed the highest occupied molecular orbital (HOMO) levels of about ?5.30 eV and the lowest unoccupied molecular orbital (LUMO) levels of about ?3.60 eV, and covered broad absorption ranges with narrow optical band gaps (ca. 1.6 eV). The bulk heterojunction polymer solar cell (PSC) devices containing an active layer of electron‐donor polymers ( CPDT‐CN and DTS‐CN ) blended with an electron‐acceptor, that is, [6,6]‐phenyl‐C₆₁‐butyric acid methyl ester (PC₆₁BM) or [6,6]‐phenyl‐C₇₁‐butyric acid methyl ester (PC₇₁BM), in different weight ratios were explored under 100 mW/cm² of AM 1.5 white‐light illumination. The PSC device based on DTS‐CN: PC₇₁BM (1:2 w/w) exhibited a best power conversion efficiency (PCE) value of 2.25% with V_oc = 0.74 V, J_sc = 8.39 mA/cm², and FF = 0.36. © 2011 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part A: Polym Chem, 2011.     

Benzodifuran‐containing well‐defined π‐conjugated polymers for photovoltaic cells

Two well‐defined alternating π‐conjugated polymers containing a soluble electroactive benzo[1,2‐b:4,5‐b′]difuran (BDF) chromophore, poly(BDF‐(9‐phenylcarbazole)) (PBDFC), and poly(BDF‐benzothiadiazole) (PBDFBTD) were synthesized via Sonogashira copolymerizations. Their optical, electrochemical, and field‐effect charge transport properties were characterized and compared with those of the corresponding homopolymer PBDF and random copolymers of the same overall composition. All these polymers cover broad optical absorption ranges from 250 to 750 nm with narrow optical band gaps of 1.78–2.35 eV. Both PBDF and PBDFBTD show ambipolar redox properties with HOMO levels of ?5.38 and ?5.09 eV, respectively. The field‐effect mobility of holes varies from 2.9 × 10^?8 cm² V^?1 s^?1 in PBDF to 1.0 × 10^?5 cm² V^?1 s^?1 in PBDFBTD. Bulk heterojunction solar cell devices were fabricated using the polymers as the electron donor and [6,6]‐phenyl‐C₆₁‐butyric acid methyl ester as the electron acceptor, leading to power conversion efficiencies of 0.24–0.57% under air mass 1.5 illumination (100 mW cm^?2). These results indicate that their band gaps, molecular electronic energy levels, charge mobilities, and molecular weights are readily tuned by copolymerizing the BDF core with different π‐conjugated units. © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part A: Polym Chem, 2012     

Random copolymers based on 3‐hexylthiophene and benzothiadiazole with induced π‐conjugation length and enhanced open‐circuit voltage property for organic photovoltaics

A series of donor‐acceptor low‐bandgap conjugated polymers, that is, HThmBT (m = 3, 6, 9, 12, 15), composed of regioregular 3‐hexylthiophene segments and 2,1,3‐benzothiadiazole units, were synthesized through the Stille coupling polymerization to optimize the π‐conjugation length of the polymer and the intramolecular charge transfer (ICT) effect in the polymer backbone. The polymers had relatively low optical bandgaps ranging from 1.6 to 1.72 eV. Among these polymers, HTh6BT exhibited the best device performance with a power conversion efficiency (PCE) of 1.6%. Moreover, despite being based on thiophene, HTh6BT exhibited a high‐open circuit voltage (V_OC) of over 0.8 V because of its low high occupied molecular orbital (HOMO) energy level. These results provided an effective strategy for designing and synthesizing low‐bandgap conjugated polymers with broad absorption ranges and well‐balanced energy levels. © 2010 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part A: Polym Chem, 2010     

Energy level tuning of polythiophene derivative by click chemistry‐type postfunctionalization of side‐chain alkynes

A polythiophene derivative substituted with electron‐rich alkynes as a side chain was synthesized using the Suzuki polycondensation reaction. The electron‐rich alkynes underwent the “click chemistry”‐type quantitative addition reaction with strong acceptor molecules, such as tetracyanoethylene (TCNE) and 7,7,8,8‐tetracyanoquinodimethane (TCNQ), resulting in the formation of donor–acceptor chromophores. All polymers showed excellent solubilities in the common organic solvents as well as good thermal stabilities with their 5% decomposition temperatures exceeding 230 °C. The TCNE‐/TCNQ‐adducted polymers displayed well‐defined charge‐transfer (CT) bands in the low energy region. The CT energy of the TCNE‐adducted polymer was 2.56 eV (484 nm), which was much greater than that of the TCNQ‐adducted polymer [1.65 eV (750 nm)]. This result was supported by the electrochemical measurements. The electrochemical band gaps of the TCNE‐adducted polymers were much greater than those of the corresponding TCNQ‐adducted polymers. Furthermore, the highest occupied molecular orbital (HOMO) and lowest unoccupied molecular orbital (LUMO) energy levels, determined from the first oxidation and first reduction peak potentials, respectively, decreased with the increasing acceptor addition amount. All these results suggested that the energy levels of the polythiophene derivative can be tuned by varying the species and amount of the acceptor molecules using this postfunctionalization method. © 2010 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part A: Polym Chem, 2010     

Synthesis of polymers containing 1,2,4‐oxadiazole as an electron‐acceptor moiety in their main chain and their solar cell applications

To explore the aptitude of 1,2,4‐oxadiazole‐based electron‐acceptor unit in polymer solar cell applications, we prepared four new polymers (P1–P4) containing 1,2,4‐oxadiazole moiety in their main chain and applied them to solar cell applications. Thermal, optical, and electrochemical properties of the polymers were studied using thermogravimetric, absorption, and cyclic voltammetry analysis, respectively. All four polymers showed high thermal stability (5% degradation temperature over 335 °C), and the optical band gaps were calculated to be 2.20, 1.72, 1.37, and 1.74 eV, respectively, from the onset wavelength of the film‐state absorption band. The energy levels of the polymers were found to be suitable for bulk heterojunction (BHJ) solar cell applications. The BHJ solar cells were prepared by using the synthesized polymers as a donor and PC₇₁BM as an electron acceptor with the configuration of ITO/PEDOT:PSS/polymer:PC₇₁BM (1:3 wt %)/LiF/Al. One of the polymers was found to show the maximum power conversion efficiency of 1.33% with a Jsc of 4.95 mA/cm², a V_oc of 0.68 V, and a FF of 40%, measured using AM 1.5 G solar simulator at 100 mW/cm₂ light illumination. © 2013 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part A: Polym Chem, 2013     

Synthesis and photovoltaic properties of two‐dimensional D‐A copolymers with conjugated side chains

Four novel two‐dimensional (2D) donor–acceptor (D‐A) type copolymers with different conjugated side chains, P1 , P2 , P3 , and P4 (see Fig. 1 ), are designed and synthesized for the application as donor materials in polymer solar cells (PSCs). To the best of our knowledge, there were few reports to systematically study such 2D polymers with D‐A type main chains in this area. The optical energy band gaps are about 2.0 eV for P1 – P3 and 1.67 eV for P4 . PSC devices using P1 – P4 as donor and [6,6]‐phenyl‐C₆₁‐butyric acid methyl ester as acceptor in a weight ratio of 1:3 were fabricated and characterized to investigate the photovoltaic properties of the polymers. Under AM 1.5 G, 100 mA/cm² illumination, a high open‐circuit voltage (V_oc) of 0.9 V was recorded for P3 ‐based device due to its low HOMO level, and moderate fill factor was obtained with the best value of 58.6% for P4 ‐based device, which may mainly be the result of the high hole mobility of the polymers (up to 1.82 × 10^?3 cm²/V s). © 2011 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part A: Polym Chem, 2011     

Synthesis,characterization, and photovoltaic properties of dithienylbenzobisazole‐dithienylsilole copolymers

Three conjugated polymers comprised of dioctyl‐dithieno‐[2,3‐b:2',3'‐d]silole and a donor‐acceptor‐donor triad of either cis‐benzbisoxazole, trans‐benzobisoxazole or trans‐benzobisthiazole were synthesized via the Stille cross‐coupling reaction. The impact of varying the heteroatoms and/or the location within the benzobisazole moiety on the optical and electronic properties of the resulting polymers was evaluated via cyclic voltammetry and UV‐Visible spectroscopy. All of the polymers have similar optical band‐gaps of ～1.9 eV and highest occupied molecular orbital levels of ? 5.2 eV. However, the lowest unoccupied molecular orbitals (LUMO) ranged from ? 3.0 to ? 3.2 eV. Interestingly, when the polymers were used as donor materials in bulk‐heterojunction photovoltaic cells with PC₇₁BM as the electron‐acceptor, the benzobisoxazole‐based polymers gave slightly better results than the benzobisthiazole‐containing polymers with power conversion efficiencies up to 3.5%. These results indicate that benzobisoxazoles are promising materials for use in OPVs. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Polym. Sci., Part A: Polym. Chem. 2015 , 53, 1533–1540     

Synthesis and characterization of new low band‐gap polymers containing electron‐accepting acenaphtho[1,2‐c]thiophene‐S,S‐dioxide groups

Two donor–acceptor conjugated polymers, PTSSO‐TT and PTSSO‐BDT, composed of acenaphtho[1,2‐c]thiophene ‐ S,S‐dioxide (TSSO) as a new electron acceptor and thienothiophene (TT) or benzo[1,2‐b:4,5‐b']dithiophene (BDT) as electron donors, were synthesized with Stille cross‐coupling reactions. The number‐averaged molecular weights (M_n) of PTSSO‐TT and PTSSO‐BDT were found to be 15100 and 26000 Da, with dispersity of 1.8 and 2.4, respectively. The band‐gap energies of PTSSO‐TT and PTSSO‐BDT are 1.56 and 1.59 eV, respectively. The HOMO levels of PTSSO‐TT and PTSSO‐BDT are ?5.4 and ?5.5 eV, respectively. These results indicate that the inclusion of TSSO accepting units into polymers is a very effective method for lowering their HOMO energy levels. The field‐effect mobilities of PTSSO‐TT and PTSSO‐BDT were determined to be 1.5 × 10^?3 and 4.5 × 10^?4 cm² V^?1 s^?1, respectively. A polymer solar cell device prepared with PTSSO‐TT as the active layer was found to exhibit a power conversion efficiency (PCE) of 3.79% with an open circuit voltage of 0.71 V under AM 1.5 G (100 mW cm^?2) conditions. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Polym. Sci., Part A: Polym. Chem. 2016 , 54, 498–506     

Soluble narrow‐band‐gap copolymers containing novel cyclopentadithiophene units for organic photovoltaic cell applications

Five novel conjugated copolymers ( P1 – P5 ) containing coplanar cyclopentadithiophene (CPDT) units (incorporated with arylcyanovinyl and keto groups in different molar ratios) were synthesized and developed for the applications of polymer solar cells (PSCs). Polymers P1 – P5 covered broad absorption ranges from UV to near infrared (400–900 nm) with narrow optical band gaps of 1.38–1.70 eV, which are compatible with the maximum solar photon reflux. Partially reversible p‐ and n‐doping processes of P1 – P5 in electrochemical experiments were observed, and the proper molecular design for highest occupied molecular orbital (HOMO)/lowest unoccupied molecular orbital (LUMO) levels of P1 – P5 induced the highest photovoltaic open‐circuit voltage in the PSC devices, compared with those previously reported CPDT‐based narrow‐band‐gap polymers. Powder X‐ray diffraction (XRD) analyses suggested that these copolymers formed self‐assembled π‐π stacking and pseudobilayered structures. Under 100 mW/cm² of AM 1.5 white‐light illumination, bulk heterojunction PSC devices containing an active layer of electron donor polymers P1 – P5 mixed with electron acceptor [6,6]‐phenyl C₆₁ butyric acid methyl ester (PCBM) in the weight ratio of 1:4 were investigated. The PSC device containing P1 gave the best preliminary result with an open‐circuit voltage of 0.84 V, a short‐circuit current of 2.36 mA/cm², and a fill factor of 0.38, offering an overall power conversion efficiency (PCE) of 0.77% as well as a maximal quantum efficiency of 23% from the external quantum efficiency (EQE) measurements. © 2009 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part A: Polym Chem 47: 2073–2092, 2009     

Tuning the frontier molecular orbital energy levels of n‐type conjugated copolymers by using angular‐shaped naphthalene tetracarboxylic diimides,and their use in all‐polymer solar cells with high open‐circuit voltages

An angular‐shaped naphthalene tetracarboxylic diimide (NDI) was designed and synthesized as a new building block for n‐type conjugated polymers to tune their energy levels. Three n‐type copolymers incorporating this angular‐shaped NDI as the acceptor moiety were obtained by Stille coupling reactions and had number average molecular weights of 18.7–73.0 kDa. All‐polymer bulk‐heterojunction solar cells made from blends of these polymers with poly(3‐hexylthiophene) gave a power conversion efficiency up to 0.32% and exhibited an open‐circuit voltage (V_oc) up to 0.94 V due to their relative high‐lying lowest unoccupied molecular orbital energy levels. The high V_oc of 0.94 V is higher than that of solar cells based on linear‐shaped NDI‐containing polymers (<0.6 V). The results indicate that the angular‐shaped NDI is a promising building block for constructing nonfullerene polymer acceptors for solar cells with high open‐circuit voltages. © 2013 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part A: Polym Chem, 2013     

Synthesis and characterization of new sulfone‐derivatized phenylenevinylene‐based conjugated copolymers with evolving energy levels and gaps

A new series of stable, processable, and chain end functionalizable sulfone‐derivatized phenylenevinylene‐based conjugated polymers (SFPVs) containing different donor type comonomers have been synthesized and characterized. The polymer main chains are consisted of a sulfone‐phenylene electron accepting unit coupled with an electron donating unit which is derived from one of the dialdehyde comonomers based on benzene, thiophene, and pyrrole (with or without alkoxy side chains). The optical energy gaps (E_g) of the new polymers (in solvent) are in a range of 1.9–2.3 eV, with the lowest energy gap obtained from the polymer containing pyrrole as the donor unit. By using a combination of strong donor unit (such as pyrrole) and a relatively weak but stable acceptor unit (sulfone‐substituted benzene), E_g of the conjugated polymers can be tailored to below 2 eV, while the vinylene bonds on the polymer main chain are still chemically stable to survive strong basic conditions as compared with the S,S‐dioxo‐thiophene‐based PTV polymers developed earlier for potential supra‐molecular block copolymer systems. The lowest energy gap P(Pyrrole‐SFPV) exhibited 10 times better photoelectric power conversion efficiency than P(TV‐SFPV). © 2011 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part A: Polym Chem, 2012     

Synthesis and characterization of novel low‐bandgap triphenylamine‐based conjugated polymers with main‐chain donors and pendent acceptors for organic photovoltaics

A series of novel low‐bandgap triphenylamine‐based conjugated polymers ( PCAZCN , PPTZCN , and PDTPCN ) consisting of different electron‐rich donor main chains (N‐alkyl‐2,7‐carbazole, phenothiazine, and cyclopentadithinopyrol, respectively) as well as cyano‐ and dicyano‐vinyl electron‐acceptor pendants were synthesized and developed for polymer solar cell applications. The polymers covered broad absorption spectra of 400–800 nm with narrow optical bandgaps ranging 1.66–1.72 eV. The highest occupied molecular orbital and lowest unoccupied molecular orbital levels of the polymers measured by cyclic voltammetry were found in the range of ?5.12 to ?5.32 V and ?3.45 to ?3.55 eV, respectively. Under 100 mW/cm² of AM 1.5 white‐light illumination, bulk heterojunction photovoltaic devices composing of an active layer of electron‐donor polymers ( PCAZCN , PPTZCN , and PDTPCN ) blended with electron‐acceptor [6,6]‐phenyl‐C₆₁‐butyric acid methyl ester or [6,6]‐phenyl‐C₇₁‐butyric acid methyl ester (PC₇₁BM) in different weight ratios were investigated. The photovoltaic device containing donor PCAZCN and acceptor PC₇₁BM in 1:2 weight ratio showed the highest power conversion efficiency of 1.28%, with V_oc = 0.81 V, J_sc = 4.93 mA/cm², and fill factor = 32.1%. © 2010 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part A: Polym Chem, 2010     

Regioselective grignard metathesis reaction of 2,5‐dibromo‐3‐(6′‐hexylpyridine‐2′‐yl)thiophene and kumada coupling polymerization

2,5‐Dibromo‐3‐(6′‐hexylpyridine‐2′‐yl)thiophene ( DBPyTh ) was synthesized by the Suzuki coupling reaction between two aromatic compounds followed by the bromination. The Grignard metathesis reaction of DBPyTh with isopropylmagnesium chloride proceeded in 85% conversion and the regioselective halogen–metal exchange at the 2‐position was confirmed. Namely, 5‐bromo‐2‐chloromagnesio‐3‐(6′‐hexylpyridine‐2′‐yl)thiophene and 2‐bromo‐5‐chloromagnesio‐3‐(6′‐hexylpyridine‐2′‐yl)thiophene were generated in 90:10 molar ratio. Subsequently, the Kumada coupling polymerization was carried out using 1,3‐bis(diphenylphosphinopropane)nickel(II) dichloride to obtain poly(3‐(6′‐hexylpyridine‐2′‐yl)thiophene) ( PolyPyTh ). The polymer molecular weight could be roughly controlled by the catalyst concentration and the molecular weight distribution ranged from 1.25 to 1.80. The gas chromatograph analysis indicated that 5‐bromo‐2‐chloromagnesio‐3‐(6′‐hexylpyridine‐2′‐yl)thiophene was preferentially polymerized in 90% conversion and the percentage of the head‐to‐tail content (regioregularity) was calculated to be 96%. The matrix‐assisted laser desorption/ionization time‐of‐fright mass spectrum indicated that both polymer chain ends were substituted with the hydrogen atom. The absorption maxima of polymer in CHCl₃ and thin film were observed at 447 and 457 nm, respectively, which were blue‐shifted compared with poly(3‐(4′‐octylphenyl)thiophene). From the CV measurement of the polymer thin film, highest occupied molecular orbital (HOMO) (?5.31 eV) and lowest unoccupied molecular orbital (LUMO) (?3.76 eV) energy levels were calculated from the oxidation and reduction onset potentials, respectively, and the electrochemical band gap energy was determined to be 1.62 eV. © 2011 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part A: Polym Chem, 2011     

Donor–acceptor photovoltaic polymers based on 1,4‐dithienyl‐2,5‐dialkoxybenzene with intramolecular noncovalent interactions

Donor–acceptor (D–A) conjugated polymers bearing non‐covalent configurationally locked backbones have a high potential to be good photovoltaic materials. Since 1,4‐dithienyl‐2,5‐dialkoxybenzene ( TBT ) is a typical moiety possessing intramolecular S…O interactions and thus a restricted planar configuration, it was used in this work as an electron‐donating unit to combine with the following electron‐accepting units: 3‐fluorothieno[3,4‐b]thiophene ( TFT ), thieno‐[3,4‐c]pyrrole‐4,6‐dione ( TPD ), and diketopyrrolopyrrole ( DPP ) for the construction of such D–A conjugated polymers. Therefore, the so‐designed three polymers, PTBTTFT , PTBTTPD , and PTBTDPP , were synthesized and investigated on their basic optoelectronic properties in detail. Moreover, using [6,6]‐phenyl‐C₇₁‐butyric acid methyl ester (PC₇₁BM) as acceptor material, polymer solar cells (PSCs) were fabricated for studying photovoltaic performances of these polymers. It was found that the optimized PTBTTPD cell gave the best performance with a power conversion efficiency (PCE) of 4.49%, while that of PTBTTFT displayed the poorest one (PCE = 1.96%). The good photovoltaic behaviors of PTBTTPD come from its lowest‐lying energy level of the highest occupied molecular orbital (HOMO) among the three polymers, and good hole mobility and favorable morphology for its PC₇₁BM‐blended film. Although PTBTDPP displayed the widest absorption spectrum, the largest hole mobility, and regular chain packing structure when blended with PC₇₁BM, its unmatched HOMO energy level and disfavored blend film morphology finally limited its solar cell performance to a moderate level (PCE: 3.91%). © 2018 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Polym. Sci., Part A: Polym. Chem. 2018 , 56, 689–698     

Synthesis and photovoltaic properties of low‐bandgap 4,7‐dithien‐2‐yl‐2,1,3‐benzothiadiazole‐based poly(heteroarylenevinylene)s

Three novel low‐bandgap copolymers containing alkylated 4,7‐dithien‐2‐yl‐2,1,3‐benzothiadiazole (HBT) and different electron‐rich functional groups (dialkylfluorene (PFV‐HBT), dialkyloxyphenylene (PPV‐HBT) and dialkylthiophene (PTV‐HBT)) were prepared by Horner polycondensation reactions and characterized by ¹H NMR, gel permeation chromatography, and elemental analysis. The alkyl side chain brings these polymeric materials good solubility in common organic solvents, which is critical for the manufacture of solar cells in a cost‐effective manner. The copolymers exhibit low optical bandgap from 1.48 to 1.83 eV. The highest occupied molecular orbital (HOMO) and lowest unoccupied molecular orbital (LUMO) energy levels of the copolymers were measured by cyclic voltammetry. Theoretical calculations revealed that the variation laws of HOMO and the LUMO energy levels are well consistent with cyclic voltammetry measurement. The bulk heterojunction photovoltaic devices with the structure of ITO/PEDOT‐PSS/polymer:PCBM/LiF/Al were fabricated by using the three copolymers as the donor and (6,6)‐phenyl‐C₆₁‐butyric acid methyl ester (PCBM) as the acceptor in the active layer. The device based on PTV‐HBT:PCBM (1:4 w/w) achieved a power conversion efficiency of 1.05% under the illumination of AM 1.5, 100 mW/cm². © 2011 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part A: Polym Chem, 2011.     

Diketopyrrolopyrrole‐based acceptor–acceptor conjugated polymers: The importance of comonomer on their charge transportation nature

Besides the donor–acceptor (D–A) type, acceptor–acceptor (A–A) polymers are another class of important alternative conjugated copolymers, but have been less studied in the past. In this study, two kinds of A–A polymers, P1 and P2 , have been designed and synthesized based on diketopyrrolopyrrole in combination with the second electron‐deficient unit, perylenediimide or thieno[3,4‐c]pyrrole‐4,6‐dione. UV–vis absorption spectroscopy revealed that these two kinds of polymers have a band gap of 1.28–1.33 eV. Their highest occupied molecular orbital and lowest unoccupied molecular orbital energy levels are around ?5.6 and ?4.0 eV for P1 polymers, whereas ?5.4 and ?3.7 eV for P2 polymers, respectively. Density functional theory study disclosed that P1 backbone is in a vastly twisting state, whereas that of P2 is completely planar. Furthermore, organic field‐effect transistor devices were fabricated using these two kinds of polymers as the active material. Of interest, the devices based on P1 polymers displayed n‐channel behaviors with an electron mobility in the order of 10^?4 cm² V^?1 s^?1. In contrast, the P2 ‐based devices exhibited only p‐channel charge transportation characteristics with a hole mobility in the order of 10^?3 cm² V^?1 s^?1. © 2014 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Polym. Sci., Part A: Polym. Chem. 2014 , 52, 2356–2366     

Synthesis,optical and electrochemical properties of arylenevinylene‐based π‐conjugated polymers with imidazolium units in the main chain

Arylenevinylene‐based π‐conjugated polymers containing imidazolium cationic units in the main chain and their model compounds were synthesized and characterized in terms of optical and electrochemical properties. 9,9‐Bisoctylfluorene, 2,5‐bisdodecyloxybenzene, and 3‐dodecylthiophene were introduced as arylene units with different donor characteristics to evaluate the effect on the highest occupied molecular orbital‐lowest unoccupied molecular orbital (HOMO‐LUMO) gap energy. The UV–vis and fluorescence spectra of cationic polymers and model compounds with iodide counter anion exhibited a significant blue shift with respect to the parent neutral molecules. X‐ray single crystal analysis for model compounds revealed that the effective π‐conjugation length of cationic model compounds decreased compared to the neutral model compounds by means of twisted conformation directed by CH‐π interactions between N‐methyl groups of imidazolium and neighboring aryl units. The cyclic voltammetry measurement suggested the negative shift of LUMO levels by the conversion of imidazole to imidazolium, indicating the electron‐accepting characteristics of cationic imidazolium unit. © 2011 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part A: Polym Chem, 2011