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Halogen-free Polymer Donors Based on 3,4-Dicyanothiophene for High-performance Polymer Solar Cells

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Abstract

Polymer solar cells (PSCs) consisting of a polymer donor and a small molecular acceptor is a promising photovoltaic technology, whose device performance is determined by both polymer donor and small molecular acceptor. Halogen atoms such as fluorine or chlorine atoms were usually introduced onto the polymer donors to downshift the highest occupied molecular orbital (HOMO) energy levels and improve the open-circuit voltage (VOC) of the PSCs. However, the introduction of the halogen atoms especially fluorine atoms greatly complicates the polymer synthesis. Herein, we report the use of a structural simple and easily synthesized building block, 3,4-dicyanothiophene (DCT), to construct a set of halogen-free polymer donors PBCNTx (x=25, 50, 75) via ternary random copolymerization. The introduction of DCT units not only simplified the synthesis, but also downshifted the HOMO energy levels of the polymers and improved the VOC of PSCs effectively. Encouragingly, the PBCNT75 afforded a power conversion efficiency up to 15.7% with a VOC of 0.83 V, which are among the top values for halogen-free polymer donors. This work shows that the introduction of DCT units is a simple yet effective strategy to construct halogen-free and low-cost polymer donors for high-performance PSCs.

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Acknowledgments

The work was financially supported by the Ministry of Science and Technology of China (Nos. 2017YFA0206600 and 2019YFA0705900), the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Nos. 21875072, U20A6002 and 51973169), and Guangdong Innovative and Entrepreneurial Research Team Program (No. 2019ZT08L075). This study also received financial support from Science and Technology Foundation of Guangdong Province (No. 2021A0101180005), and Special Projects in Key Areas for the University of Guangdong Province (No. 2021ZDZX1009).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Institute of Polymer Optoelectronic Materials and Devices, State Key Laboratory of Luminescent Materials and Devices, South China University of Technology, Guangzhou, 510640, China

    Yun-Li Zhao, Yue Zhang, Xi-Yue Yuan, Wan-Yuan Deng, Bo Zhang, Shu-Ting Pang, Bing-Yan Yin, Hong-Bin Wu, Chun-Hui Duan, Fei Huang & Yong Cao

  2. Hubei Engineering Technology Research Center of Optoelectronic and New Energy Materials, Wuhan Institute of Technology, Wuhan, 430205, China

    Bo Zhang & Zhi-Tian Liu

  3. Department of Materials and Food, University of Electronic Science and Technology of China Zhongshan Institute, Zhongshan, 528402, China

    Kai-Wen Lin

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  1. Yun-Li Zhao
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  2. Yue Zhang
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  12. Fei Huang
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  13. Yong Cao
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Correspondence to Kai-Wen Lin, Zhi-Tian Liu or Chun-Hui Duan.

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Zhao, YL., Zhang, Y., Yuan, XY. et al. Halogen-free Polymer Donors Based on 3,4-Dicyanothiophene for High-performance Polymer Solar Cells. Chin J Polym Sci 40, 905–913 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10118-022-2721-5

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