Achieving high performance organic solar cells with a closer π–π distance in branched alkyl-chain acceptors. Issue 17 (20th April 2023)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Tan, Pu; Cao, Congcong; Cheng, Yue; Chen, Hui; Lai, Hanjian; Zhu, Yulin; Han, Liang; Qu, Jianfei; Zheng, Nan; Zhang, Yuanzhu; He, Feng
• Is Part Of: Journal of materials chemistry. Volume 11:Issue 17(2023)
• Page Start: 9538
• Page End: 9545
• Publication Date: 2023-04-20
• Subjects: Materials -- Research -- Periodicals; Chemistry, Analytic -- Periodicals; Environmental sciences -- Research -- Periodicals; 543.0284
• DOI: 10.1039/d3ta01049j
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 2050-7488

Abstract

Abstract : This study describes a strategy for improving organic photovoltaic materials performance by adjusting the packing mode with a branched alkyl-chain, BTIC-TCl- b . This modification significantly reduces the π–π distance and boosts the power conversion efficiency up to 16.71%. Abstract : Side-chain functional groups have been shown to not only ensure solubility but also influence molecular packing behavior, and side-chain modification is an important strategy in the optimization of photovoltaic performance. Instead of focusing on the size of the alkyl side chains, we have investigated the influence of side-chain configurations on the properties of acceptors and organic solar cells (OSCs). Two acceptor molecules, BTIC-TCl- b and BTIC-TCl- l were designed by changing the linear configuration of alkyl chain substituents on thiophene rings to a branched structure. The results show that the branched configuration of the side-chain can significantly improve the planarity and reduce the π⋯π distances, leading to a more compact 3D-network structure. With the polymer donor PBDB-TF, an outstanding power conversion efficiency (PCE) of 16.17% was achieved by BTIC-TCl- b, which is significantly higher than that found with BTIC-TCl- l . Our study offers new insights for side-chain modification, regulation of the aggregation state, and optimization of photovoltaic performance.