Abstract
Oligomers of the low-band-gap PCDTBT polymer, based on either 3,6 or 2,7 carbazole units, were modified with vinyl ω-chain end functionalities. The vinyl-functionalized oligomers were used as comonomers in free radical polymerizations with quinoline-based monomers such as 6-vinylphenyl-(2-pyridinyl)-4-phenyl-quinoline (vinyl-QPy), and 6-vinylphenyl-(2-perfluorophenyl)-4-phenyl quinoline (vinyl-5FQ). The co-polymeric materials bearing the vinyl-QPy moiety were developed as potential compatibilizers in polymer electron donor–fullerene acceptor blends for non-covalent interactions with the fullerene part. The co-polymeric materials bearing the vinyl-5FQ moiety were developed for the covalent attachment of carbon nanostructures; specifically, PC61BM. Both copolymers and hybrids, after thorough purification, were characterized in terms of their spectroscopic and optical properties as well as their ability to form nanophased separated films as such, or as additives at various percentages into PCDTBT: PC71BM blends.
Highlights
In recent years, organic photovoltaics (OPVs) based on conjugated polymers have come to be considered a promising route for renewable energy production devices due to their advantages, such as their low cost, flexibility, light weight and their offering facile coverage of large-scale areas of various shapes, compared to silicon-based solar cells [1,2,3]
Organic solar cells composed of a binary mixture of a polymeric electron donor and a fullerene derivative as the electron acceptor (Bulk Heterojunction OPVs) have achieved power conversion efficiencies (PCEs) of over 10% [4,5,6,7]
Oligomers of the poly(carbazole-alt-benzothiadiazole)-PCDTBT family were synthesized via Suzuki cross-coupling polymerization reaction and were modified in situ at the ω-end positions of the polymer’s backbone with functional groups
Summary
Organic photovoltaics (OPVs) based on conjugated polymers have come to be considered a promising route for renewable energy production devices due to their advantages, such as their low cost, flexibility, light weight and their offering facile coverage of large-scale areas of various shapes, compared to silicon-based solar cells [1,2,3]. The introduction of various functional units onto semiconducting polymers, either as side chains or at the αand/or ω- end positions of the polymeric chains, allows a variety of approaches for the formation of complex macromolecular architectures or even hybrid structures Such modifications on the semiconducting polymeric chains enable the covalent attachment of a semiconducting polymer onto carbon nanostructures, creating hybrid materials that are expected, and in many cases have revealed, combined properties, altering and fine-tuning the morphology and nanophase separation of the pure component blends [25,26,27,28,29,30]. This latter approach was recently demonstrated by our group, and allows the direct connection of the semiconducting species onto the carbon nanostructures, creating hybrid materials in which the properties of the constituent organic and carbon nanostructure entities are influenced and/or combined [35]
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