We compared an indacenodithiophene(IDT)-based fused-ring electron acceptor IDIC1 with its counterpart IHIC1 in which the central benzene unit is replaced by a naphthalene unit, and investigated the effects of the benzene/naphthalene core on the optical and electronic properties as well as on the performance of organic solar cells (OSCs). Compared with benzene-cored IDIC1, naphthalene-cored IHIC1 shows a larger π-conjugation with stronger intermolecular π–π stacking. Relative to benzene-cored IDIC1, naphthalene-cored IHIC1 shows a higher lowest unoccupied molecular orbital energy level (IHIC1: −3.75 eV, IDIC1: −3.81 eV) and a higher electron mobility (IHIC1: 3.0 × 10 −4 cm 2 V −1 s −1 , IDIC1: 1.5 × 10 −4 cm 2 V −1 s −1 ). When paired with the polymer donor FTAZ that has matched energy levels and a complementary absorption spectrum, IHIC1-based OSCs show higher values of open-circuit voltage, short-circuit current density, fill factor and power conversion efficiency relative to those of the IDIC1-based control devices. These results demonstrate that extending benzene in IDT to naphthalene is a promising approach to upshift energy levels, enhance electron mobility, and finally achieve higher efficiency in nonfullerene acceptor-based OSCs.
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Effects of linking units on fused-ring electron acceptor dimers
Three fused-ring electron acceptors ( SIDIC , DIDIC and TIDIC ) were designed and synthesized using single bond, vinylene and acetylene units linked indaceno[3,2- b ]dithiophene dimers as electron-rich cores and 3-(1,1-dicyanomethylene)-5,6-difluoro-1-indanone as electron-deficient termini. These molecules exhibit strong absorption from 550 to 900 nm with large attenuation coefficients of 1.8–2.0 × 10 5 M −1 cm −1 and high electron mobilities of 2.2–4.9 × 10 −3 cm 2 V −1 s −1 . In combination with wide-bandgap polymer FTAZ as a donor, organic solar cells exhibit efficiencies of 9.3–13.1%. Effects of the linking units on optical, electronic, morphologic, and photovoltaic properties were revealed. Relative to SIDIC , vinylene-bridged DIDIC shows red-shifted absorption, while acetylene-bridged TIDIC shows blue-shifted absorption. Compared with SIDIC and DIDIC , TIDIC has a lower HOMO, higher electron mobility, and higher device efficiency.
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- Award ID(s):
- 1639429
- PAR ID:
- 10212352
- Date Published:
- Journal Name:
- Journal of Materials Chemistry A
- Volume:
- 8
- Issue:
- 27
- ISSN:
- 2050-7488
- Page Range / eLocation ID:
- 13735 to 13741
- Format(s):
- Medium: X
- Sponsoring Org:
- National Science Foundation
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