Small molecules based on benzo[1,2-b:4,5-b']dithiophene unit for high-performance solution-processed organic solar cells

High-Efficiency All-Small-Molecule Organic Solar Cells Based on an Organic Molecule Donor with Alkylsilyl-Thienyl Conjugated Side Chains

Two medium-bandgap p-type organic small molecules H21 and H22 with an alkylsily-thienyl conjugated side chain on benzo[1,2-b:4,5-b']dithiophene central units are synthesized and used as donors in all-small-molecule organic solar cells (SM-OSCs) with a narrow-bandgap n-type small molecule 2,2'-((2Z,2'Z)-((4,4,9,9-tetrahexyl-4,9-dihydro-s-indaceno[1,2-b:5,6-b']dithiophene-2,7-diyl)bis(methanylylidene))bis(3-oxo-2,3-dihydro-1H-indene-2,1-diylidene))dimalononitrile (IDIC) as the acceptor. In comparison to H21 with 3-ethyl rhodanine as the terminal group, H22 with cyanoacetic acid esters as the terminal group shows blueshifted absorption, higher charge-carrier mobility and better 3D charge pathway in blend films. The power conversion efficiency (PCE) of the SM-OSCs based on H22:IDIC reaches 10.29% with a higher open-circuit voltage of 0.942 V and a higher fill factor of 71.15%. The PCE of 10.29% is among the top efficiencies of nonfullerene SM-OSCs reported in the literature to date.

D-A-D-Typed Hole Transport Materials for Efficient Perovskite Solar Cells: Tuning Photovoltaic Properties via the Acceptor Group

Two D-A-D-structured hole-transport materials (YN1 and YN2) have been synthesized and used in perovskite solar cells. The two HTMs have low-lying HOMO levels and impressive mobility. Perovskite-based solar cells (PSCs) fabricated with YN2 showed a power conversion efficiency (PCE) value of 19.27% in ambient air, which is significantly higher than that of Spiro-OMeTAD (17.80%). PSCs based on YN1 showed an inferior PCE of 16.03%. We found that the incorporation of the stronger electron-withdrawing group in the HTM YN2 improves the PCE of PSCs. Furthermore, the YN2-based PSCs exhibit good long-term stability retaining 91.3% of its initial efficiency, whereas PSCs based on Spiro-OMeTAD retained only 42.2% after 1000 h lifetime (dark conditions). These promising results can provide a new strategy for the design of D-A-D HTMs for PSC applications in future.

Medium-Bandgap Small-Molecule Donors Compatible with Both Fullerene and Nonfullerene Acceptors

Much effort has been devoted to the development of new donor materials for small-molecule organic solar cells due to their inherent advantages of well-defined molecular weight, easy purification, and good reproducibility in photovoltaic performance. Herein, we report two small-molecule donors that are compatible with both fullerene and nonfullerene acceptors. Both molecules consist of an (E)-1,2-di(thiophen-2-yl)ethane-substituted (TVT-substituted) benzo[1,2-b:4,5-b']dithiophene (BDT) as the central unit, and two rhodanine units as the terminal electron-withdrawing groups. The central units are modified with either alkyl side chains (DRBDT-TVT) or alkylthio side chains (DRBDT-STVT). Both molecules exhibit a medium bandgap with complementary absorption and proper energy level offset with typical acceptors like PC₇₁BM and IDIC. The optimized devices show a decent power conversion efficiency (PCE) of 6.87% for small-molecule organic solar cells and 6.63% for nonfullerene all small-molecule organic solar cells. Our results reveal that rationally designed medium-bandgap small-molecule donors can be applied in high-performance small-molecule organic solar cells with different types of acceptors.

An A-D-A'-D-A type small molecule acceptor with a broad absorption spectrum for organic solar cells

Organic molecules with wide absorption spectra exhibit great sunlight harvesting capability and are critically important for solar cell applications. In this manuscript, we develop an A-D-A'-D-A type small molecule acceptor (IID-IC) using isoindigo (IID) as the electron-deficient core unit (A'), thiophene as the electron-rich bridging units (D) and 2-(3-oxo-2,3-dihydroinden-1-ylidene)malononitrile (IC) as the electron-deficient endcapping groups (A). IID-IC shows a wide absorption spectrum with the full width at half maximum (FWHM) of 190 nm, which is almost twice that of a typical A-D-A type molecule acceptor. The wide absorption spectrum of IID-IC is possibly due to the partially suppressed intramolecular charge transfer effect with the additional electron-deficient core unit. An organic solar cell (OSC) device based on IID-IC exhibits the power conversion efficiency of 2.82% with broad photoresponse from 320 nm to 780 nm.

The integrated adjustment of chlorine substitution and two-dimensional side chain of low band gap polymers in organic solar cells

The chlorination and side-chain extension of benzothiadiazole derivatives can finely manipulate the open-circuit voltage in their solar cells.

Dual emissive bodipy–benzodithiophene–bodipy TICT triad with a remarkable Stokes shift of 194 nm

An acceptor–donor–acceptor (A–D–A) triad based on BODIPY and benzodithiophene exhibited a high Stokes shift of ∼194 nm, TICT and high mobility of 4.46 × 10⁻⁴ cm² V⁻¹ s⁻¹.

Thiophene-Based Organic Semiconductors

Thiophene-based π-conjugated organic small molecules and polymers are the research subject of significant current interest owing to their potential use as organic semiconductors in material chemistry. Despite simple and similar molecular structures, the hitherto reported properties of thiophene-based organic semiconductors are rather diverse. Design of high performance organic semiconducting materials requires a thorough understanding of inter- and intra-molecular interactions, solid-state packing, and the influence of both factors on the charge carrier transport. In this chapter, thiophene-based organic semiconductors, which are classified in terms of their chemical structures and their structure-property relationships, are addressed for the potential applications as organic photovoltaics (OPVs), organic field-effect transistors (OFETs) and organic light emitting diodes (OLEDs).

Understanding the Limiting Factors of Solvent-Annealed Small-Molecule Bulk-Heterojunction Organic Solar Cells from a Chemical Perspective

A detailed account of the limiting factors of solvent-annealed bulk-heterojunction small-molecule organic solar cells is given. This account is based on the extensive characterisation of solar cell devices made from a library of five diketopyrolopyrole (DPP) donor dyes. Their chemical structure is designed in such a way as to provide insights into the energetics of solar cell active layer micro-structure formation. Numerous chemical and physical properties of the active layers are assessed and inter-related such as light absorption, molecular packing in the solid state, crystal-forming properties in thin films, charge carrier mobility and charge carrier recombination kinetics. A myriad of characterisation techniques are used such as UV/Vis absorption spectroscopy, photoluminescence spectroscopy, XRD, AFM and photo-induced transient measurements, which provide information on the optical properties of the active layers, morphology and recombination kinetics. Consequently, a mechanism for the solvent-vapour-annealing-assisted formation of crystalline domains of donor molecules in the active layer is proposed, and the micro-structural features are related to the J-V characteristics of the devices. According to this model, the crystalline phase in which the donor crystallise in the active layer is the key determinant to direct the formation of the micro-structure.

Efficient Polymer Solar Cells with High Open-Circuit Voltage Containing Diketopyrrolopyrrole-Based Non-Fullerene Acceptor Core End-Capped with Rhodanine Units

Herein we report the synthesis of a novel A-D-A-D-A non-fullerene small-molecule acceptor (NFSMA) bearing a diketopyrrolopyrrole (DPP) acceptor central core coupled to terminal rhodanine acceptors via a thiophene donor linker (denoted as MPU1) for use in non-fullerene polymer solar cells (PSCs). This NFSMA exhibits a narrow optical band gap (1.48 eV), strong absorption in the 600-800 nm wavelength region of the solar spectrum, and a lowest unoccupied energy level of -3.99 eV. When the mixture of a medium band gap D-A copolymer P (1.75 eV) was used as donor and MPU1 as acceptor, the blend film showed a broad absorption profile from 400 to 850 nm, beneficial for light harvesting efficiency of the resulted polymer solar cell. After optimization of the donor-to-acceptor weight ratios and concentration of solvent additive, the P-MPU1-based PSC exhibited a power conversion efficiency of 7.52% (J_sc= 12.37 mA/cm², V_oc = 0.98 V, and fill factor = 0.62), which is much higher than that for a P3HT-MPU1-based device (2.16%) prepared under identical conditions. The higher value for the P-MPU1-based device relative to the P3HT-MPU1-based one is related to the low energy loss and more balanced charge transport in the device based on the P donor. These results indicate that alteration of the absorption spectra and electrochemical energy levels of non-fullerene acceptors, and appropriate selection of the polymer donor with complementary absorption profile, is a promising means to further boost the performance of PSCs.

New Wide Band Gap Donor for Efficient Fullerene-Free All-Small-Molecule Organic Solar Cells

A new organic small molecule, DRTB-T, that incorporates a two-dimensional trialkylthienyl-substituted benzodithiophene core building block was designed and synthesized. DRTB-T has a band gap (E_g^opt) of 2.0 eV with a low-lying highest occupied molecular orbital (HOMO) level of -5.51 eV. Nonfullerene small-molecule solar cells consisting of DRTB-T and a nonfullerene acceptor (IC-C6IDT-IC) were constructed, and the morphology of the active layer was fine-tuned by solvent vapor annealing (SVA). The device showed a record 9.08% power conversion efficiency (PCE) with a high open-circuit voltage (V_oc = 0.98 V). This is the highest PCE for a nonfullerene small-molecule organic solar cell (NFSM-OSC) reported to date. Our notable results demonstrate that the molecular design of a wide band gap (WBG) donor to create a well-matched donor-acceptor pair with a low band gap (LBG) nonfullerene small-molecule acceptor, as well as subtle morphological control, provides great potential to realize high-performance NFSM-OSCs.

Achieving the highest efficiency using a BODIPY core decorated with dithiafulvalene wings for small molecule based solution-processed organic solar cells

A novel boron dipyrromethene based dye, coded as BODIPY-DTF, decorated with dithiafulvalene wings has been developed for solar cell application.

Indenothiophene-based asymmetric small molecules for organic solar cells

Indenothiophene-based asymmetric small molecules have been designed, synthesized, and used for organic solar cells with efficiencies up to 4.57%.

Systematic Investigation of Benzodithiophene-Benzothiadiazole Isomers for Organic Photovoltaics

Two new donor-acceptor small molecules based on benzo[1,2-b:4,5-b']dithiophene (BDT) and benzo[c][1,2,5]thiadiazole (BT) were designed and synthesized. Small molecules 4,4'-[(4,8-bis(5-(2-ethylhexyl)thiophen-2-yl)benzo[1,2-b:4,5-b']dithiophene-2,6-diyl)bis(2,2'-bithiophene)-5,5'-diyl]bis(benzo[c][1,2,5]thiadiazole) (BDT-TT-BT) and 4,4'-(4,8-bis(5-(2-ethylhexyl)thiophen-2-yl)benzo[1,2-b:4,5-b']dithiophene-2,6-diyl)bis[7-(2,2'-bithiophene-5-yl)benzo[c][1,2,5]thiadiazole] (BDT-BT-TT) are structural isomers with the 2,2-bithiophene unit placed either between the BDT and BT units or at the end of the BT units. This work is targeted toward finding the effect of structural variation on optoelectronic properties, morphology, and photovoltaic performance. On the basis of theoretical calculations, the molecular geometry and energy levels are different for these two molecules when the position of the 2,2-bithiophene unit is changed. Optical and electrochemical properties of these two small molecules were characterized using UV-vis and cyclic voltammetry. The results showed that BDT-BT-TT has broader absorption and an elevated HOMO energy level when compared with those of BDT-TT-BT. The performance of these two isomers in solar cell devices was tested by blending with [6,6]-phenyl-C₇₁-butyric acid methyl ester (PC₇₁BM). Power conversion efficiencies as high as 3.22 and 3.71% were obtained in conventional solar cell structures for BDT-TT-BT and BDT-BT-TT, respectively. The morphology was studied using grazing incident wide-angle X-ray scattering and transmission electron microscopy, which revealed different phase separations of these two molecules when blended with PC₇₁BM.

Effects of solvent additive on "s-shaped" curves in solution-processed small molecule solar cells

A novel molecular chromophore, p-SIDT(FBTThCA8)₂, is introduced as an electron-donor material for bulk heterojunction (BHJ) solar cells with broad absorption and near ideal energy levels for the use in combination with common acceptor materials. It is found that films cast from chlorobenzene yield devices with strongly s-shaped current-voltage curves, drastically limiting performance. We find that addition of the common solvent additive diiodooctane, in addition to facilitating crystallization, leads to improved vertical phase separation. This yields much better performing devices, with improved curve shape, demonstrating the importance of morphology control in BHJ devices and improving the understanding of the role of solvent additives.

Selective Morphology Control of Bulk Heterojunction in Polymer Solar Cells Using Binary Processing Additives

We report the effect of binary additives on the fabrication of polymer solar cells (PSCs) based on a bulk heterojunction (BHJ) system. The combination of 1,8-diiodooctane (DIO), a high-boiling and selective solvent, for fullerene derivatives and poly(dimethylsiloxane) (PDMS) precursor, a nonvolatile insulating additive, affords complementary functions on the effective modulation of BHJ morphology. It was found that DIO and PDMS precursor each play different roles in the control of BHJ morphology, and thus, the power conversion efficiency (PCE) can be further enhanced to 7.6% by improving the fill factor (FF) from 6.8% compared to that achieved using a conventional device employing only a DIO additive. In the BHJ of the active layer, DIO suppressed the large phase separation of PBDTTT-CF and PC₇₁BM while allowing the formation of continuous polymer networks in the donor polymer through phase separation of the PDMS precursor and BHJ components. The appropriate amount of PDMS precursor does not disturb charge transport in the BHJ despite having insulating properties. In addition, the dependence of photovoltaic parameters on different light intensities reveals that the charge recombination in the device with DIO and PDMS precursor decreases compared to that achieved using the device with only DIO.

Investigation of Fluorination on Donor Moiety of Donor-Acceptor 4,7-Dithienylbenzothiadiazole-Based Conjugated Polymers toward Enhanced Photovoltaic Efficiency

It is known that fluorination on π-conjugated donor-acceptor (D-A) polymers can significantly affect the optoelectronic properties and fluorination on A moiety has been well established for design of efficient photovoltaic materials. For example, polymers based on 4,7-dithienyl-5,6-difluorobenzothiadiazole (DTffBT) have been intensively investigated and exhibited excellent performance, but the corresponding DTBT-based polymers without fluorine often display an unfavorable efficiency. With the purpose of improving photovoltaic efficiency of DTBT-based D-A polymers, we design three polymers PDTBT-TxfBT (x = 0, 1, 2) with fluorination on D moiety (TxfBT) and systematically investigate fluorination on the photophysical/electrochemical and photovoltaic properties. The results show that polymer solar cells (PSCs) based on PDTBT-TBT exhibit moderate power conversion efficiency (PCE) of 5.84%. However, the bis-fluorination on TffBT moiety (PDTBT-TffBT) can greatly enhance the molecular planarity and intermolecular interaction, improve the charge transport and heterojunction morphology, and further suppress the charge recombination losses. PSCs based on PDTBT-TffBT demonstrate obviously improved photovoltaic efficiency with the best PCE up to 7.53% without any processing additives, which ranks among the top DTBT-based PSCs. However, it should be noted that unsymmetrical fluorination on TfBT moiety (PDTBT-TfBT) impairs the regularity of polymer backbone and intermolecular interaction, increases the recombination losses, and seriously reduces the short-circuit current density and efficiency (5.44%). The results exhibit that fluorination on D moiety is a helpful strategy for design high-performance photovoltaic materials and the regularity of fluorination is crucial to improving efficiencies.

Effect of the π-conjugation length on the properties and photovoltaic performance of A-π-D-π-A type oligothiophenes with a 4,8-bis(thienyl)benzo[1,2-b:4,5-b']dithiophene core

Benzo[1,2-b:4,5-b′]dithiophene (BDT) is an excellent building block for constructing π-conjugated molecules for the use in organic solar cells. In this paper, four 4,8-bis(5-alkyl-2-thienyl)benzo[1,2-b:4,5-b′]dithiophene (TBDT)-containing A–π–D–π–A-type small molecules (COOP-nHT-TBDT, n = 1, 2, 3, 4), having 2-cyano-3-octyloxy-3-oxo-1-propenyl (COOP) as terminal group and regioregular oligo(3-hexylthiophene) (nHT) as the π-conjugated bridge unit were synthesized. The optical and electrochemical properties of these compounds were systematically investigated. All these four compounds displayed broad absorption bands over 350–600 nm. The optical band gap becomes narrower (from 1.94 to 1.82 eV) and the HOMO energy levels increased (from −5.68 to −5.34 eV) with the increase of the length of the π-conjugated bridge. Organic solar cells using the synthesized compounds as the electron donor and PC₆₁BM as the electron acceptor were fabricated and tested. Results showed that compounds with longer oligothiophene π-bridges have better power conversion efficiency and higher device stability. The device based on the quaterthiophene-bridged compound 4 gave a highest power conversion efficiency of 5.62% with a V_OC of 0.93 V, J_SC of 9.60 mA·cm⁻², and a FF of 0.63.

Solution-Processable Small Molecules for High-Performance Organic Solar Cells with Rigidly Fluorinated 2,2'-Bithiophene Central Cores

Small molecules containing an oligothiophene backbone are simple but effective donor materials for organic solar cells (OSCs). In this work, we incorporated rigid 2,2'-bithiophene (BT) or fluorinated 2,2'-bithiophene (FBT) as the central unit and synthesized two novel small molecules (TTH-D3TRh and TTF-D3TRh) with an oligothiophene backbone and 3-ethylrhodanine end groups. Both molecules exhibit good thermal stability as well as strong and broad absorption. The fluorination of the BT central unit made TTF-D3TRh possess a relatively lower-lying HOMO energy level, better molecular stacking, and higher mobility in comparison with those of TTH-D3TRh. Conventional OSCs were fabricated to evaluate the photovoltaic property of these two molecules. Without extra post-treatments, the conventional devices based on TTH-D3TRh and TTF-D3TRh showed high PCEs of 5.00 and 5.80%, respectively. The TTF-D3TRh device exhibited a higher performance, which can be attributed to the improved Voc of 0.92 V, Jsc of 10.04 mA cm(-2), and FF of 62.8%. Using an inverted device structure, the OSCs based on TTH-D3TRh and TTF-D3TRh showed largely elevated PCEs of 5.89 and 7.14%, respectively. The results indicated that the structurally simple TTH-D3TRh and TTF-D3TR molecules are potential donor candidates for achieving highly efficient OSCs. The strategy of fluorination and rigidity designation is an effective approach to develop oligothiophene-based small molecular donors for highly efficient solar cell applications.

The Importance of End Groups for Solution-Processed Small-Molecule Bulk-Heterojunction Photovoltaic Cells

End groups in small-molecule photovoltaic materials are important owing to their strong influence on molecular stability, solubility, energy levels, and aggregation behaviors. In this work, a series of donor-acceptor pentads (D2 -A-D1 -A-D2 ) were designed and synthesized, aiming to investigate the effect of the end groups on the materials properties and photovoltaic device performance. These molecules share identical central A-D1 -A triads (with benzodithiophene as D1 and 6-carbonyl-thieno[3,4-b]thiophene as A), but with various D2 end groups composed of alkyl-substituted thiophene (T), thieno[3,2-b]thiophene (TT), and 2,2'-bithiophene (BT). The results indicate a relationship between conjugated segment/alkyl chain length of the end groups and the photovoltaic performance, which contributes to the evolving molecular design principles for high efficiency organic solar cells.

Side-chain Engineering of Benzo[1,2-b:4,5-b']dithiophene Core-structured Small Molecules for High-Performance Organic Solar Cells

Three novel small molecules have been developed by side-chain engineering on benzo[1,2-b:4,5-b’]dithiophene (BDT) core. The typical acceptor-donor-acceptor (A-D-A) structure is adopted with 4,8-functionalized BDT moieties as core, dioctylterthiophene as π bridge and 3-ethylrhodanine as electron-withdrawing end group. Side-chain engineering on BDT core exhibits small but measurable effect on the optoelectronic properties of small molecules. Theoretical simulation and X-ray diffraction study reveal the subtle tuning of interchain distance between conjugated backbones has large effect on the charge transport and thus the photovoltaic performance of these molecules. Bulk-heterojunction solar cells fabricated with a configuration of ITO/PEDOT:PSS/SM:PC₇₁BM/PFN/Al exhibit a highest power conversion efficiency (PCE) of 6.99% after solvent vapor annealing.

Photon-absorbing charge-bridging states in organic bulk heterojunctions consisting of diketopyrrolopyrrole derivatives and PCBM

We have investigated the photo- and electrochemical properties of five diketopyrrolopyrrole (DPP) derivatives both experimentally and theoretically. In the experimental study, we found that a blend of a DPP derivative named D2 and phenyl-C61-butyric acid methyl ester (PCBM) exhibits the highest internal quantum efficiency (IQE) and power convergence efficiency (PCE) among the five derivatives investigated. In the theoretical study, we found that the open-circuit voltage can be estimated from the difference between the energy gap of frontier orbitals and the voltage loss and that the latter is suppressed when the IQE is large. Then, to investigate the factors that influence the IQE, investigations on charge recombination, hole transfer, and charge transfer induced by photoabsorption were conducted for the complexes of each DPP derivative and PCBM. It was found that D2/PCBM exhibits the largest charge-bridging upon photoabsorption, which leads to the highest IQE and PCE among the five DPP derivatives.

Development of simple hole-transporting materials for perovskite solar cells

Three low-cost propeller-shaped small molecules based on a triphenylamine core and the high-performance donor molecule 7,7′-[4,4-bis(2-ethylhexyl)-4H-silolo[3,2-b:4,5-b′]dithiophene-2,6-diyl]bis[6-fluoro-4-(5′-hexyl-[2,2′-bithiophen]-5-yl)benzo[c][1,2,5]thiadiazole] (DTS(FBTTh2)2) were investigated as hole-transporting materials in perovskite solar cells. Each hole-transporting material was designed with highly modular side arms, allowing for different bandgaps and thin-film properties while maintaining a consistent binding energy of the highest occupied molecular orbitals to facilitate hole extraction from the perovskite active layer. Perovskite solar cell devices were fabricated with each of the three triphenylamine-based hole-transporting materials and DTS(FBTTh2)2 and were compared to devices with 2,2′,7,7′-tetrakis(N,N-di-p-methoxyphenylamine)-9,9′-spirobifluorene (spiro-OMeTAD) hole-transporting layers. Each of our triphenylamine hole-transporting materials and DTS(FBTTh2)2 displayed surface morphologies that were considerably rougher than that of spiro-OMeTAD; a factor that may contribute to lower device performance. It was found that using inert, insulating polymers as additives with DTS(FBTTh2)2 reduced the surface roughness, resulting in devices with higher photocurrents.

Optimization of the Energy Level Alignment between the Photoactive Layer and the Cathode Contact Utilizing Solution-Processed Hafnium Acetylacetonate as Buffer Layer for Efficient Polymer Solar Cells

The insertion of an appropriate interfacial buffer layer between the photoactive layer and the contact electrodes makes a great impact on the performance of polymer solar cells (PSCs). Ideal interfacial buffer layers could minimize the interfacial traps and the interfacial barriers caused by the incompatibility between the photoactive layer and the electrodes. In this work, we utilized solution-processed hafnium(IV) acetylacetonate (Hf(acac)4) as an effective cathode buffer layer (CBL) in PSCs to optimize the energy level alignment between the photoactive layer and the cathode contact, with the short-circuit current density (Jsc), open-circuit voltage (Voc), and fill factor (FF) all simultaneously improved with Hf(acac)4 CBL, leading to enhanced power conversion efficiencies (PCEs). Ultraviolet photoemission spectroscopy (UPS) and scanning Kelvin probe microscopy (SKPM) were performed to confirm that the interfacial dipoles were formed with the same orientation direction as the built-in potential between the photoactive layer and Hf(acac)4 CBL, benefiting the exciton separation and electron transport/extraction. In addition, the optical characteristics and surface morphology of the Hf(acac)4 CBL were also investigated.

Regioisomeric donor–acceptor–donor triads based on benzodithiophene and BODIPY with distinct optical properties and mobilities

Two regioisomeric donor–acceptor–donor triads composed of benzodithiophene and BODIPY exhibit distinct optical and charge transfer properties, and mobilities of ∼10⁻⁴ cm² V⁻¹ s⁻¹.

Hetero aromatic donors as effective terminal groups for DPP based organic solar cells

Phenoxazine and carbazole end-capped donor–acceptor–donor (D–A–D) based small moleculesCSDPP5–CSDPP8have been synthesized. The device withCSDPP6:PC₇₁BM as active layer exhibited a PCE of 4.69%.

Synthesis and properties of pteridine-2,4-dione-functionalised oligothiophenes

The synthesis of symmetrical acceptor-functionalised oligothiophenes is described and their electrochemical and optical properties are reported.

An oligothiophene chromophore with a macrocyclic side chain: synthesis, morphology, charge transport, and photovoltaic performance

Molecular chromophores tend to form crystals beyond nanometer sizes upon thermal aging. A novel ring-protection structure has shown promise to solve morphological stability problem of solution-processed small molecule solar cell devices.

Theoretical investigations of the small molecular acceptor materials based on oligothiophene – naphthalene diimide in organic solar cells

The electronic transmission paths of NDI-T3DCRD with the centroid distance from core molecule to ambient molecules marked.