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Spirobifluorene-cored small molecules containing four diketopyrrolopyrrole arms for solution-processed organic solar cells

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Abstract

Spirobifluorene-linked three-dimensional small molecules of SF(DPP)4 and SF(TDPP)4 containing four diketopyrrolopyrrole arms were designed and synthesized. Both molecules displayed a broad and strong absorption in the region of 300–700 nm with suitable HOMO and LUMO energy levels as well as high charge carrier mobility. Meanwhile, solution-processed organic solar cells with a device structure of ITO/PEDOT:PSS/active layer/Ca/Al was also fabricated to investigate the photovoltaic properties of SF(DPP)4 and SF(TDPP)4. In contrast to that of star-shaped TPA(DPP)3 in solar cells, enhanced photovoltaic performance with an impressive open circuit voltage of 0.95 V and short-circuit current density of 9.12 mA/cm2 was achieved, leading to the maximum power conversion efficiency of 3.72 %. Our result here demonstrated that the three-dimensional-type small molecule in a D–A framework is a promising candidate as electron-donor materials for efficient organic solar cells.

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Acknowledgements

The authors acknowledge the financial supports from the Foundation of Xi’an Jiao Tong University for New Teachers (HX1K008), the China Postdoctoral Science Foundation Funded Project (2015M582648), the Fundamental Research Funds for the Central Universities of China (xjj2016069), and the Project Supported by Natural Science Basic Research Plan in Shaanxi Province of China (2016JQ5029).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Science, Xi’an Jiao Tong University, Xi’an, 710049, People’s Republic of China

    Dongfeng Dang, Ying Zhi & Lingjie Meng

  2. Department of Chemistry, Key Lab of Environment-Friendly Chemistry and Application in the Ministry of Education, Xiangtan University, Xiangtan, 411105, People’s Republic of China

    Dongfeng Dang, Pei Zhou & Weiguo Zhu

  3. Qingdao Institute of Bioenergy and Bioprocess Technology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Qingdao, 266101, People’s Republic of China

    Xichang Bao & Renqiang Yang

Authors
  1. Dongfeng Dang
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  2. Pei Zhou
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  3. Ying Zhi
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  4. Xichang Bao
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  5. Renqiang Yang
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  6. Lingjie Meng
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  7. Weiguo Zhu
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Correspondence to Dongfeng Dang, Renqiang Yang, Lingjie Meng or Weiguo Zhu.

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Dang, D., Zhou, P., Zhi, Y. et al. Spirobifluorene-cored small molecules containing four diketopyrrolopyrrole arms for solution-processed organic solar cells. J Mater Sci 51, 8018–8026 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10853-016-0070-x

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