Synthesis of conjugated polymers with pendant ruthenium terpyridine trithiocyanato complexes and their applications in heterojunction photovoltaic cells

Two conjugated polymers based on poly(phenylenethiophene) and poly (fluorenethiophene) main chain functionalized with pendant trithiocyanato ruthenium terpyridine complexes were synthesized by the Suzuki coupling reaction. The ruthenium complexes can extend the absorption band to longer wavelength and enhance the photosensitivity in this region. The polymers exhibit very broad absorption band spanning from 400 to 750 nm due to the presence of π‐conjugated system and the ruthenium complexes. Such enhancement in optical absorption enables the utilization of solar light in the near IR region. By space charge limited current modeling, the hole carrier mobilities of the polymers were calculated to be in the order of 10^?4 cm² V^?1 s^?1, which greatly facilitate the transport of charges after the separation of excitons. Heterojunction photovoltaic cells with simple structure ITO/polymer/C₆₀/Al were fabricated. Under simulated AM1.5 solar light illumination, the short circuit currents, open circuit voltages, and power conversion efficiencies of the photovoltaic cells were measured to be 1.53–2.58 mA cm^?2, 0.12–0.24 V, and 0.084–0.12%, respectively. Deposition of PEDOT:PSS on ITO surface did not show significant difference in device performance. Plot of incident photon to charge efficiency as the function of wavelength suggests that absorption by both conjugated main chain and ruthenium complex are essential to the photocurrent generation. © 2008 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part A: Polym Chem 46: 1305–1317, 2008     

Alternating π‐conjugated copolymer of dithiafulvene with 2,2′‐bipyridyl units

A π‐conjugated polymer containing a dithiafulvene unit and a bipyridyl unit was prepared by cycloaddition polymerization of aldothioketene derived from 5,5′‐diethynyl‐2,2′‐bipyridine. Ultraviolet–visible (UV–vis) absorption spectra showed that the π‐conjugation system of the polymer expanded more effectively than that of a benzene analogue of poly(dithiafulvene) obtained from 1,4‐diethynylbenzene. Cyclic voltammetry measurements indicated that the dithiafulvene–bipyridyl polymer was a weaker electron‐donor polymer than the benzene analogue. These results supported the idea that the incorporation of the electron‐accepting bipyridyl moiety into conjugated poly(dithiafulvene) induced an intramolecular charge‐transfer (CT) effect between the units. Treatment of the dithiafulvene–bipyridyl polymer with bis(2,2′‐bipyridyl)dichlororuthenium (II) [Ru(bpy)₂Cl₂] afforded a ruthenium–polymer complex. A cyclic voltammogram of the complex showed broad redox peaks, which indicated electronic interaction between the dithiafulvene and tris(bipyridyl) ruthenium complex. The dithiafulvene–bipyridyl polymer formed CT complexes with 7,7,8,8‐tetracycanoquinodimethane (TCNQ) in dimethyl sulfoxide. The UV–vis absorption indicated that the resulting CT complex contained anion radical of TCNQ and partially charge‐transferred TCNQ. The polymer showed an unusually high electrical conductivity of 3.1 × 10^?4 S/cm in its nondoped state due to the effective donor–acceptor interaction between the bipyridine unit and the dithiafulvene unit. © 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. J Polym Sci Part A: Polym Chem 39: 4083–4090, 2001     

Water‐soluble anionic conjugated polymers for metal ion sensing: Effect of interchain aggregation

Three sulfonato‐containing fluorene‐based anionic water‐soluble conjugated polymers, which are specially designed to link fluorene with alternating moieties such as bipyridine ( P1 ), pyridine ( P2 ), and benzene ( P3 ) have been synthesized via the Pd‐catalyzed Sonogashira‐coupling reaction, respectively. These polymers had good solubility in water and showed different responses for transition metal ions with different valence in aqueous environments: the fluorescence of bipyridine‐containing P1 can be completely quenched by addition of all transition metal ions selected and showed a good selectivity for Ni²⁺; the pyridine‐containing P2 had a little response for monovalent and divalent metal ions while showed good quenching with the addition of trivalent metal ions (with a special selectivity for Fe³⁺); P3 had responses only for the trivalent metal ions within the ionic concentration we studied. After investigation of the UV‐vis absorption spectra, PL emission spectra, DLS, and fluorescence lifetime of P1 – P3 in aqueous solution when adding transition metal ions, we found that the different spectrum responses of these polymers are attributed to the different coordination ability of the units linked with fluorene in the main chain. The energy or electron‐transfer reactions were the main reason for fluorescence quenching of P1 and P2 . On the other hand, interchain aggregation caused by trivalent metal ions lead to fluorescence quenching for P3 and also caused partly fluorescence quenching of P1 and P2 . These results revealed the origin of ionochromic effects of these polymers and suggested the potential application for these polymers as novel chemosensors with higher sensing sensitivity in aqueous environments. © 2009 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part A: Polym Chem 47: 5057–5067, 2009     

Terpyridine‐substituted,fluorescent polymers and their chelation with zinc ion: The ligand‐to‐metal ratio and optical properties

Soluble, fluorescent, terpyridine‐substituted, conjugated polymers were prepared and characterized. The polymer chains included a defined oligo(phenylenevinylene) fragment, on which the terpyridine‐functional group was attached. The polymers were blue‐fluorescent with emission peaks at 400–427 nm in tetrahydrofuran solutions. Upon chelation with the Zn(II) cation, the emission maxima were shifted to a longer wavelength by as much as 113 to 506–526 nm. A model compound was also prepared to aid the structural characterization. The ratio of terpyridine to Zn²⁺ in the polymer complex was found to be 1:1 on the basis of spectroscopic evidence, which included mass spectrometry, ¹H NMR, and Job titration. © 2006 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part A: Polym Chem 44: 2338–2345, 2006     

Ion‐Specific Self‐Assembly of Low‐Dimension Aggregate Structures of Conjugated Polymer at Two‐Phase Interface

A novel and facile approach to manipulate the morphology of Cu²⁺‐ion‐specific assembly of conjugated polymer by coordinative interaction at an oil–water two‐phase interface is present. The application of increasing importance is the use of π‐conjugated polymers as receptors, exploiting their ability to selectively form complexes, which can obviously change the optical properties in solution and induce the formation of varied solid nano/microstructures. By this method, microtubes are formed through self‐rolling of a strained ionic bilayer film at the oil/water interface.     

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     

Coordination of nickel and copper dithiolate to 2,2′‐bipyridine‐based π‐conjugated polymers

π‐Conjugated polymers (Poly1–Poly3) containing a 2,2′‐bipyridine (bpy) unit were subjected to coordination to nickel and copper dithiolate for the purpose of manipulating the photophysical properties. The absorption maximum peak of Poly1 [maximum wavelength (λ_max) = 446 nm] redshifted by 36 nm upon the coordination of bpy to NiCl₂, which produced Poly1–NiCl₂. A further bathochromic shift was observed in the spectrum of Poly1–mntNi [mntNi = (maleonitrile dithiolate)nickel; λ_max = 499 nm] bearing the dithiolate ligand, which stemmed from the extension of the conjugated system over the nickel dithiolate moiety through the bpy unit. An increase in the [Ni]/[bpy] ratio in Poly1–mntNi rendered the original maximum peak at 446 nm smaller and the lower energy charge‐transfer peak at 499 nm larger; the isosbestic points remained at 380 and 475 nm. The green fluorescence (λ_max = 504 nm) emitted from Poly1 markedly diminished upon the coordination of nickel dithiolate because of the effective energy transfer. The absorption maximum peak of Poly1–mntNi in chloroform at 499 nm blueshifted to 471 nm when the volume ratio of the chloroform/N,N‐dimethylformamide solvent reached 10:90. The coordination of nickel dithiolate to Poly2 and Poly3 also brought about redshifts of the absorption maximum peaks of as much as 55 and 61 nm, respectively. The absorption maximum peak of Poly1–(phenyldithiolate)nickel(pdtNi) (λ_max = 474 nm) redshifted by 28 nm in comparison with that of Poly1, whereas the magnitude of the shift of Poly1–bis(thiophenoxide)nickel(btpNi) bearing two thiophenoxide ligands was 20 nm. Poly1–mntCu with a tetrahedral copper center was also investigated. © 2004 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part A: Polym Chem 42: 2631–2639, 2004     

Synthesis and characterization of alt‐bipyridinylene‐phenylene copolymers containing ruthenium(II) complexes

Poly{bis(4,4′‐tert‐butyl‐2,2′‐bipyridine)–(2,2′‐bipyridine‐5,5′‐diyl‐[1,4‐phenylene])–ruthenium(II)bishexafluorophosphate} ( 3a ), poly{bis(4,4′‐tert‐butyl‐2,2′‐bipyridine)–(2,2′‐bipyridine‐4,4′‐diyl‐[1,4‐phenylene])–ruthenium(II)bishexafluorophosphate} ( 3b ), and poly{bis(2,2′‐bipyridine)–(2,2′‐bipyridine‐5,5′‐diyl‐[1,4‐phenylene])–ruthenium(II)bishexafluorophosphate} ( 3c ) were synthesized by the Suzuki coupling reaction. The alternating structure of the copolymers was confirmed by ¹H and ¹³C NMR and elemental analysis. The polymers showed, by ultraviolet–visible, the π–π* absorption of the polymer backbone (320–380 nm) and at a lower energy attributed to the d–π* metal‐to‐ligand charge‐transfer absorption (450 nm for linear 3a and 480 nm for angular 3b ). The polymers were characterized by a monomodal molecular weight distribution. The degree of polymerization was approximately 8 for polymer 3b and 28 for polymer 3d . © 2004 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part A: Polym Chem 42: 2911–2919, 2004     

Synthesis of optically active conjugated polymers containing platinum in the main chain: Control of the higher‐order structures by substituents and solvents

The Sonogashira–Hagihara coupling polymerization of d ‐hydroxyphenylglycine‐derived diiodo monomers 1–4 and platinum‐containing diethynyl monomer 5 gave the corresponding polymers [poly( 1–5 )–( 2–5 )] with number‐average molecular weights of 19,000–25,000 quantitatively. The polymers were soluble in CHCl₃, CH₂Cl₂, THF, and DMF. CD and UV–vis spectroscopic analysis revealed that amide‐substituted polymers [poly( 1–5 ) and poly( 2–5 )] formed chiral higher‐order structures in solution, while ester‐substituted polymers [poly( 3–5 ) and poly( 4–5 )] did not. Poly( 1–5 ) formed one‐handed helices in THF/toluene mixtures, while it formed chiral aggregates in THF/MeOH mixtures. Poly( 1–5 ) emitted fluorescence with quantum yields ranging from 0.8 to 1.3%. The polymers usually aggregated in the solid state. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Polym. Sci., Part A: Polym. Chem. 2015 , 53, 2452–2461     

基于咔唑衍生物的荧光化学传感器的合成及其对金属离子的选择性识别性能

以咔唑为原料合成了2个荧光化学传感器,所得化合物的组成和结构经元素分析以及质谱、红外光谱、核磁共振氢谱验证.通过在25℃下进行荧光光谱滴定,研究了传感器在体积比为1∶1的二甲基亚砜/水缓冲溶液[三羟甲基氨基甲烷盐酸盐(Tris-HCl),pH=7.4]中对Cu2+和Fe3+的选择性识别作用.结果表明,所合成的传感器与Cu2+和Fe3+形成1∶1的配合物并导致荧光猝灭,并对Cu2+离子和Fe3+离子具有较高的选择性识别和荧光传感性能.     

Thiophene–phenylene/naphthalene‐based step‐ladder copolymers

A series of step‐ladder copolymers based on thiophene–phenylene–thiophene SL1 ‐ SL3 and thiophene–naphthylene–thiophene SL4 repeat units with varying lengths of the oligothiophene segment has been designed and synthesized via a microwave‐assisted Stille‐type cross‐coupling reaction followed by a polymer‐analogous cyclization reaction. The optical properties of the step‐ladder copolymers have been investigated in detail, in particular at low temperature and in the solid‐state. © 2008 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part A: Polym Chem 46: 7342–7353, 2008     

Synthesis of imidazole‐terminated hyperbranched polymers with POSS‐branching points and their pH responsive and coordination properties

An imidazole‐terminated hyperbranched polymer with octafunctional POSS branching units denoted as POSS‐HYPAM‐Im was prepared by the polymerization of excess amounts of tris(2‐aminoethyl)amine with the first‐generation methyl ester‐terminated POSS‐core poly(amidoamine)‐typed dendrimer, reacting with methyl acrylate, and ester‐amide exchange reaction with 3‐aminopropylimidazole. The imidazole‐terminated hyperbranched poly(amidoamine) denoted as HYPAM‐Im was also synthesized with 1‐(3‐aminopropyl)imidazole from a methyl ester‐terminated hyperbranched poly(amidoamine) by the ester‐amide exchange reaction. The transmittance of the POSS‐HYPAM‐Im solution drastically decreased when the solution pH was greater than 8.2. On the other hand, the transmittance of the HYPAM‐Im solution gradually decreased when the solution pH at 8.5 and was greater than 9. Spectrophotometric titrations of the hyperbranched polymer aqueous solutions with Cu²⁺ ions indicated the variation of the coordination modes of POSS‐HYPAM‐Im from the Cu²⁺–N₄ complex to the Cu²⁺–N₂O₂ complex and the existence of the only one complexation mode of Cu²⁺–N₄ between Cu²⁺ ion and HYPAM‐Im with increasing the concentrations. © 2013 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Polym. Sci., Part A: Polym. Chem. 2013, 51, 2695–2701     

Oligonucleotide‐mediated aggregation of a cationic conjugated polymer for fluorescent detection of mercury ions in an aqueous medium

A cationically charged conjugated polymer ( P2 ) functionalized with quaternary ammonium salt was newly synthesized via Suzuki cross‐coupling polymerization. The functionalized P2 features different fluorescence colors according to its phases (blue emission in solution and green emission as asolid) which is caused by intramolecular and intermolecular exciton migration, respectively. The use of P2 as a novel fluorescent sensing platform is demonstrated for mercury ion detection. The detection of mercury ions is accomplished in two steps: (1) the cationic, blue‐emitting P2 absorbs an anionic oligonucleotide, polythymidine ( PT ) via electrostatic interaction to form a complex with green emission due to aggregation between the two species; (2) the addition of mercury ions to the complex produces a new complex of PT ‐Hg²⁺ via more favorable specific interaction, resulting in the isolation of P2 and the consequent recovery of blue fluorescence of P2 . It suggests that this detection system has high selectivity and sensitivity down to the ～10^?7 M level, even in mixtures of metal ions. © 2013 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Polym. Sci., Part A: Polym. Chem. 2013, 51, 2393–2400     

Bandgap engineering of indenofluorene‐based conjugated copolymers with pendant donor‐π‐acceptor chromophores for photovoltaic applications

Three narrow‐band‐gap conjugated copolymers based on indenofluorene and triphenylamine with pendant donor‐π‐acceptor chromophores were successfully synthesized by post‐functionalization approach. All the polymers have good solubility in common solvents and excellent thermal stability. The photophysical properties, energy levels and band gaps of the polymers were well manipulated by introducing different acceptor groups onto the end of their conjugated side chains. By using different acceptor groups, the band gaps of the polymers were narrowed from 1.86 to 1.53 eV by lowering their lowest unoccupied molecular orbital levels, whereas their relatively deep highest occupied molecular orbital levels of approximately ?5.35 eV were maintained. Bulk‐heterojunction solar cells with these polymers as electron donors and (6,6)‐phenyl‐C₇₁‐butyric acid methyl ester as acceptor showed power conversion efficiencies as high as 3.1% and high open circuit voltages more than 0.88 eV. The relationships between the performance and film morphology, energy levels, charge mobilities were discussed. © 2011 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part A: Polym Chem, 2011     

Small band gap conjugated polymers based on thiophene–thienopyrazine copolymers

In this study, five small band gap thiophene ( TH )–thienopyrazine ( TP ) conjugated copolymers were synthesized by Stille‐coupling reaction. The polymer structures consisted of one to four thiophene rings with the TP of different side groups provided a systematical investigation on the structure–electronic property relationship. The absorption maxima of the polymer films decreased from 850 to 590 nm as the thiophene moieties increased from thiophene to quaterthiophene. The optical and electrochemical band gaps of the studied poly[2,3‐didodecyl‐5‐(thiophen‐2‐yl)thieno[3,4‐b]pyrazine] ( PTHTP‐C12 ) were 0.97 and 0.78 eV, respectively, indicating a significant intramolecular charge transfer. The theoretical geometry and electronic properties of the TH ‐ TP copolymers by the density functional theory at the B3LYP level and 6‐31G(d) basis set suggested that the bond length alternation enlarged with enhancing the thiophene content and resulted in the variation on the polymer band gap. The relatively small theoretical effective mass of poly( TH ‐alt‐ TP ) also indicated its potential applications for field transistor applications. Our study demonstrates the tunable electronic properties of small band gap copolymers by the thiophene content and the resulted geometry variation. Such polymers could be potentially used for near‐infrared electronic and optoelectronic devices. © 2007 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part A: Polym Chem 45: 5872–5883, 2007     

Synthesis of chromo‐ and fluorogenic poly(ortho‐diaminophenylene) chemosensors for fluoride anion

Two new poly(ortho‐diaminophenylene) derivatives containing fluorene and/or quinoxaline moieties per repeat unit in the main chain were synthesized via Suzuki coupling reaction followed by reduction process. The synthesized polymers were characterized and explored as colorimetric and fluorometric anion‐sensing materials. The polymers in dilute tetrahydrofuran (THF) solution emitted green light (about 530 nm) in their precursor benzothiadiazole forms and blue to green light (477–523 nm) in their reduced forms. The color of polymer solution was dramatically altered upon addition of fluoride anion without noticeable absorption change in UV–vis spectrum. The fluorescence was ratiometrically quenched with a linear relationship between fluorescence intensity and fluoride anion concentration implying static quenching mechanism could be applied judging from the maintenance of constant fluorescence lifetime with variable fluoride anion concentration. © 2007 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part A: Polym Chem 45: 1546–1556, 2007     

Imide‐functionalized naphthodithiophene based donor‐acceptor conjugated polymers for solar cells

Donor‐acceptor conjugated polymers containing a new imide‐functionalized naphthodithiophene (INDT) as the acceptor unit and a 2,2'‐bithiophene with varied substituents as the donor unit have been synthesized. The bandgaps of these polymers depend strongly on the dihedral angle of the 2,2'‐bithiophene unit. The 3,3'‐dialkoxy substitution (polymers PDOR / PBOR ) leads to near planar bithiophene conformation due to the well‐known S–O short contact, while the 3,3'‐dialkyl substitution (polymer PDR ) results in significant twisting due to the steric effect. Consequently PDOR / PBOR shows the lowest bandgap of 1.82/1.85 eV while PDR has a bandgap of 2.38 eV. Bulk‐heterojunction solar cells of the polymer/fullerene blends have been fabricated. Preliminary results show that PBOR gives the best device performance with power conversion efficiencies as high as 2.45% in air without any thermal annealing treatment, indicating the promising potential of INDT‐containing conjugated polymers for efficient solar cells. © 2013 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Polym. Sci., Part A: Polym. Chem. 2013 , 51, 3818–3828     

Synthesis of imidazole‐containing conjugated polymers bearing phenol unit as side group and excited state intramolecular proton transfer‐mediated fluorescence

Dibromobenzimidazole and dibromoimidazole bearing hydroxyl group‐protected phenol unit ( 1 and 2 ) were prepared and they showed an intramolecular hydrogen bonding between ether oxygen and amino proton of imidazole. The palladium‐catalyzed Suzuki coupling polymerization of 1 and 2 with benzene bis(boronic acid) derivatives gave soluble polymers ( 3 and 4 ), where the molecular weights were limited probably due to the coordination ability of imidazole to palladium metal. The phenol hydroxyl groups were subsequently deprotected using BBr₃ to obtain 3 ′ and 4 ′. From the ¹H NMR spectra, the complete conversion to the hydroxyl group and the formation of another type of intramolecular hydrogen bonding between hydroxyl proton and imine nitrogen were confirmed. In the UV and PL spectra of 3 ′ and 4 ′, the excited state intramolecular proton transfer (ESIPT) occurred to shift the emission spectra toward lower energy region compared to 3 and 4 . Especially, the PL spectrum of 3 ′ demonstrated large stokes shift (145 nm) in THF solution. The ESIPT‐mediated fluorescence was influenced by the addition of methanol and trifluoroacetic acid, which inhibited the formation of intramolecular hydrogen bonding. © 2009 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part A: Polym Chem 47: 4822–4829, 2009     

Effects of substituted side‐chain position on donor–acceptor conjugated copolymers

The optical properties and electrical properties of a series of low‐band‐gap conjugated copolymers, in which alkyl side chains were substituted at various positions, were investigated using donor–acceptor conjugated copolymers consisting of a cyclopentadithiophene derivative and dithienyl‐benzothiadiazole. With substituted side chains, the intrinsic properties of the copolymers were significantly altered by perturbations of the intramolecular charge transfer. The absorption of poly[2, 6‐(4,4‐bis(2‐octyl)‐4H‐cyclopenta‐[2,1‐b:3,4‐b′]dithiophene)‐alt‐4, 7‐bis(4‐octyl‐thiophene‐2‐yl)benzo‐2,1,3‐thiadiazole] [ PCPDT‐ttOTBTOT ( P2 )], which assumed a tail–tail configuration, tended to blue shift relative to the absorption of poly[2,6‐(4,4‐bis(2‐octyl)‐4H‐cyclopenta‐[2,1‐b:3,4‐b′]dithiophene)‐alt‐4,7‐bis (thiophene‐2‐yl)benzo‐2,1,3‐thiadiazole] [ PCPDT‐TBTT ( P1 )]. The absorption of poly[2,6‐(4,4‐bis(2‐octyl)‐4H‐cyclopenta‐[2,1‐b:3, 4‐b′]dithiophene)‐alt‐4,7‐bis(3‐octyl‐thiophene‐2‐yl)benzo‐2,1,3‐thiadiazole] [ PCPDT‐hhOTBTOT ( P3 )], which assumed a head–head configuration, was blue shifted relative to that of P2 . The electrical transport properties of field‐effect transistors were sensitive to the side chain position. The field‐effect mobility in P2 (μ₂ = 1.8 × 10^?3 cm²/V s) was slightly lower than that in P1 (μ₁ = 4.9 × 10^?3 cm²/V s). However, the mobility of P3 was very low (μ₃ = 3.8 × 10^?6 cm²/V s). Photoexcitation spectroscopy showed that the charge generation efficiency (shown in transient absorption spectra) and polaron pair mobility in P1 and P2 were higher than in P3 , yielding P1 and P2 device performances that were better than the performance of devices based on P3 . © 2011 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part A: Polym Chem, 2011