Yongxiang Zhu

Hydrophilic poly(triphenylamines) with phosphonate groups on the side chains: synthesis and photovoltaic applications

Two triphenylamine-based homopolymers PTPA-EP and PTPA-PO3Na2, comprising diethyl phosphonate and sodium phosphonate end groups on side chains, respectively, were synthesized. The UV-vis absorption and photoluminescence (PL) properties of the PTPA-EP and PTPA-PO3Na2 are mainly determined by the conjugated poly(triphenylamine) main chain. The PTPA-EP and PTPA-PO3Na2 possess comparable HOMO levels of around −5.03 eV. The PTPA-EP, with better solubility than PTPA-PO3Na2 in hydrophilic solvents, was utilized as cathode interlayer to construct efficient bulk-heterojunction photovoltaic cells with a low bandgap poly(2,7-carbazole) (PCDTBT) as the polymer donor and [6,6]-phenyl C71-butyric acid methyl ester (PC71BM) as the acceptor. The work function of ITO was shifted to −4.3 eV by PTPA-EP, which matches well with the LUMO level of PC71BM for good electron extraction. Inverted solar cells with a device configuration of ITO/PTPA-EP/active layer/MoO3/Al exhibited a power conversion efficiency (PCE) of 4.59%, which is a good efficiency among inverted solar cells with an organic interlayer on an ITO cathode. The PCE shows a 79% increase in comparison to that of a bare ITO cathode, though the efficiency is lower than 5.13% for an inverted solar cell with an inorganic ZnO interlayer on ITO. Moreover, a conventional solar cell with a device configuration of ITO/PEDOT:PSS/active layer/PTPA-EP/Al could show a better PCE of 5.27%. The results indicate that PTPA-EP is a promising new cathode interlayer for high efficiency inverted and conventional solar cells.

Low band-gap benzodithiophene-thienothiophenecopolymers: the effect of dual two-dimensional substitutions on optoelectronic properties

Two new conjugated copolymers, PBDT-T6-TTF and PBDT-T12-TTF, were derived from a novel 4-fluorobenzoyl thienothiophene (TTF). In addition, two types of benzodithiophene (BDT) units with 2,3-dihexylthienyl (T6) and 2,3-didodecylthienyl (T12) substituents, respectively, were successfully synthesized. The effect of the dual two-dimensional (2D) substitutions of the building blocks upon the optoelectronic properties of the polymers was investigated. Generally, the two polymers exhibited good solubility and broad absorption, showing similar optical band gaps of ∼1.53 eV. However, PBDT-T6-TTF with its shorter alkyl chain length possessed a larger extinction coefficient in thin solid film. The highest occupied molecular orbital (HOMO) level of PBDT-T6-TTF was located at −5.38 eV while that of PBDT-T12-TTF was at −5.51 eV. In space charge-limited-current (SCLC) measurement, PBDT-T6-TTF and PBDT-T12-TTF displayed respective hole mobilities of 3.0×10−4 and 1.6×10−5 cm2 V−1s−1. In polymer solar cells, PBDT-T6-TTF and PBDT-T12-TTF showed respective power conversion efficiencies (PCEs) of 2.86% and 1.67%. When 1,8-diiodooctane (DIO) was used as the solvent additive, the PCE of PBDT-T6-TTF was remarkably elevated to 4.85%, but the use of DIO for the PBDT-T12-TTF-blend film resulted in a lower PCE of 0.91%. Atomic force microscopy (AFM) indicated that the superior efficiency of PBDT-T6-TTF with 3% DIO (v/v) should be related to the better continuous phase separation of the blend film. Nevertheless, the morphology of the PBDT-T12-TTF deteriorated when the 3% DIO (v/v) was added. Our results suggest that the alkyl-chain length on the 2D BDT units play an important role in determining the optoelectronic properties of dual 2D BDT-TT-based polymers.

Hydrophilic Conjugated Polymers with Large Bandgaps and Deep-Lying HOMO Levels as an Efficient Cathode Interlayer in Inverted Polymer Solar Cells

Two hydrophilic conjugated polymers, PmP-NOH and PmP36F-NOH, with polar diethanol-amine on the side chains and main chain structures of poly(meta-phenylene) and poly(meta-phenylene-alt-3,6-fluorene), respectively, are successfully synthesized. The films of PmP-NOH and PmP36F-NOH show absorption edges at 340 and 343 nm, respectively. The calculated optical bandgaps of the two polymers are 3.65 and 3.62 eV, respectively, the largest ones so far reported for hydrophilic conjugated polymers. PmP-NOH and PmP36F-NOH also possess deep-lying highest occupied molecular orbital levels of -6.19 and -6.15 eV, respectively. Inserting PmP-NOH and PmP36F-NOH as a cathode interlayer in inverted polymer solar cells with a PTB7/PC71 BM blend as the active layer, high power conversion efficiencies of 8.58% and 8.33%, respectively, are achieved, demonstrating that the two hydrophilic polymers are excellent interlayers for efficient inverted polymer solar cells.