Abstract
The synthesis and characterization of three solution processable diketopyrrolopyrrole (DPP) derivatives featuring acceptor units attached to the core by alkyne linker units is reported. Cyclic voltammetry and density functional theory calculations indicate that the DPP derivatives possess similar HOMO and LUMO energies. Solar cells were fabricated by blending the synthesized DPP derivatives with [6,6]-phenyl-C71-butyrate methyl ester. The influence of donor:acceptor blend ratio, film thickness, annealing temperature, and annealing time on device performance was studied. Differences in device performance were related to atomic force microscopy measurements of the films. The highest power conversion efficiency of 1.76% was achieved for the DPP derivative functionalized with an aldehyde electron-withdrawing group with a 1∶0.7 donor:acceptor ratio when the active layer was annealed for 10 min at 110°C.
Highlights
Solution-processed organic solar cells based upon bulk heterojunction (BHJ) architectures continue to attract significant interest due to their potential for low-cost fabrication by simple printing techniques and the ability to produce flexible and lightweight devices.[1]
We describe the synthesis and characterization of three small molecule diketopyrrolopyrrole (DPP) derivatives (DPP-BZ, DPP-ES, and DPP-AM) and their subsequent fabrication as BHJ devices with phenyl-C71-butyrate methyl ester (PC71BM)
Three DPP derivatives featuring electron-withdrawing units have been synthesized in respectable yields
Summary
Solution-processed organic solar cells based upon bulk heterojunction (BHJ) architectures continue to attract significant interest due to their potential for low-cost fabrication by simple printing techniques and the ability to produce flexible and lightweight devices.[1] Significant progress was achieved in the development of BHJs featuring reasonable power conversion efficiencies (PCEs) from conjugated polymers as the donor component and methyl [6,6]-phenyl-C71-butyrate methyl ester (PC71BM) as the acceptor.[2] conjugated polymers have some important drawbacks, including limited batch-to-batch reproducibility and laborious purification, which limit their large-scale synthesis. For DPP-AM and DPP-ES, we have included 2-ethylhexyl side chains to promote good solubility of these derivatives and, in the case of DPP-AM, an amide unit that could have the propensity to participate in intermolecular hydrogen bonding
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