Benzodifuran‐containing well‐defined π‐conjugated polymers for photovoltaic cells

Buchwald-Hartwig Amination of Aryl Halides with Heterocyclic Amines in the Synthesis of Highly Fluorescent Benzodifuran-Based Star-Shaped Organic Semiconductors

The study of palladium-catalyzed amination of bromobenzene with aromatic and heterocyclic amines, widely used in the synthesis of organic semiconductors, was performed. The best conditions for the coupling of aryl bromides with carbazole, diphenylamine, phenoxazine, phenothiazine, 9,9-dimethyl-9,10-dihydroacridine, and their derivatives have been developed. Based on the results, nine new star-shaped organic semiconductors, exhibiting up to 100% fluorescent quantum yield in the 400-550 nm range, have been synthesized in good yields. The TDDFT calculations of the absorption spectra revealed a good correlation with experimental results and slight solvatochromic effects with a change in the polarity of the solvent.

Recent Advances of Furan and Its Derivatives Based Semiconductor Materials for Organic Photovoltaics

The state-of-the-art bulk-heterojunction (BHJ)-type organic solar cells (OSCs) have exhibited power conversion efficiencies (PCEs) of exceeding 18%. Thereinto, thiophene and its fused-ring derivatives play significant roles in facilitating the development of OSCs due to their excellent semiconducting natures. Furan as thiophene analogue, is a ubiquitous motif in naturally occurring organic compounds. Driven by the advantages of furan, such as less steric hindrance, good solubility, excellent stacking, strong rigidity and fluorescence, biomass derived fractions, more and more research groups focus on the furan-based materials for using in OSCs in the past decade. To systematically understand the developments of furan-based photovoltaic materials, the relationships between the molecular structures, optoelectronic properties, and photovoltaic performances for the furan-based semiconductor materials including single furan, benzofuran, benzodifuran (BDF) (containing thienobenzofuran (TBF)), naphthodifurans (NDF), and polycyclic furan are summarized. Finally, the empirical regularities and perspectives of the development of this kind of new organic semiconductor materials are extracted.

Bis(Triphenylamine)Benzodifuran Chromophores: Synthesis, Electronic Properties and Application in Organic Light-Emitting Diodes

A series of bis(triphenylamine)benzodifuran chromophores have been synthesized and fully characterised. Starting from suitably functionalized benzodifuran (BDF) precursors, two triphenylamine (TPA) moieties are symmetrically coupled to a central BDF unit either at 4,8-positions through double bonds (1) and single bonds (2) respectively, or at 2,6-positions through double bonds (3). Their electronic absorption and photoluminescence properties as well as redox behaviour have been investigated in detail, indicating that the π-extended conjugation via vinyl linkers in 1 and 3 leads to comparatively strong electronic interactions between the relevant redox moieties TPA and BDF. Due to intriguing electronic properties and structural planarity, 3a has been applied as a dopant emitter in organic light-emitting diodes. A yellowish-green OLED exhibits a high external quantum efficiency (EQE) of 6.2%, thus exceeding the theoretical upper limit most likely due to energy transfer from an interface exciplex to an emissive layer and/or favorable horizontal orientation.

Constructive Quantum Interference in Single-Molecule Benzodichalcogenophene Junctions

Heteroatom substitution into the cores of alternant, aromatic hydrocarbons containing only even-membered rings is attracting increasing interest as a method of tuning their electrical conductance. Here, the effect of heteroatom substitution into molecular cores of non-alternant hydrocarbons, containing odd-membered rings, is examined. Benzodichalcogenophene (BDC) compounds are rigid, planar π-conjugated structures, with molecular cores containing five-membered rings fused to a six-membered aryl ring. To probe the sensitivity or resilience of constructive quantum interference (CQI) in these non-bipartite molecular cores, two C₂ -symmetric molecules (I and II) and one asymmetric molecule (III) were investigated. I (II) contains S (O) heteroatoms in each of the five-membered rings, while III contains an S in one five-membered ring and an O in the other. Differences in their conductances arise primarily from the longer S-C and shorter O-C bond lengths compared with the C-C bond and the associated changes in their resonance integrals. Although the conductance of III is significantly lower than the conductances of the others, CQI was found to be resilient and persist in all molecules.

Advances in Conjugated Microporous Polymers

Conjugated microporous polymers (CMPs) are a unique class of materials that combine extended π-conjugation with a permanently microporous skeleton. Since their discovery in 2007, CMPs have become established as an important subclass of porous materials. A wide range of synthetic building blocks and network-forming reactions offers an enormous variety of CMPs with different properties and structures. This has allowed CMPs to be developed for gas adsorption and separations, chemical adsorption and encapsulation, heterogeneous catalysis, photoredox catalysis, light emittance, sensing, energy storage, biological applications, and solar fuels production. Here we review the progress of CMP research since its beginnings and offer an outlook for where these materials might be headed in the future. We also compare the prospect for CMPs against the growing range of conjugated crystalline covalent organic frameworks (COFs).

Effect of fluorination pattern and extent on the properties of PCDTBT derivatives

Fluorination of PCDTBT derivatives at different positions and to different extents causes major changes in their properties.

25th anniversary article: isoindigo-based polymers and small molecules for bulk heterojunction solar cells and field effect transistors

Driven by the potential advantages and promising applications of organic solar cells, donor-acceptor (D-A) polymers have been intensively investigated in the past years. One of the strong electron-withdrawing groups that were widely used as acceptors for the construction of D-A polymers for applications in polymer solar cells and FETs is isoindigo. The isoindigo-based polymer solar cells have reached efficiencies up to ∼7% and hole mobilities as high as 3.62 cm(2) V(-1) s(-1) have been realized by FETs based on isoindigo polymers. Over one hundred isoindigo-based small molecules and polymers have been developed in only three years. This review is an attempt to summarize the structures and properties of the isoindigo-based polymers and small molecules that have been reported in the literature since their inception in 2010. Focus has been given only to the syntheses and device performances of those polymers and small molecules that were designed for use in solar cells and FETs. Attempt has been made to deduce structure-property relationships that would guide the design of isoindigo-based materials. It is expected that this review will present useful guidelines for the design of efficient isoindigo-based materials for applications in solar cells and FETs.

Directed metalation cascade to access highly functionalized thieno[2,3-f]benzofuran and exploration as building blocks for organic electronics

A tandem directed metalation has been successfully applied to the preparation of thieno[2,3-f]benzofuran-4,8-dione, providing an efficient and facile approach to symmetrically and unsymmetrically functionalize the thieno[2,3-f]benzofuran core at the 2,6 positions as well as to introduce the electron-withdrawing or -donating groups (EWG or EDG) at its 4,8 positions. The presence of various functional groups makes late-stage derivatization attainable.

Probing charge transfer in benzodifuran-C60 dumbbell-type electron donor-acceptor conjugates: ground- and excited-state assays

Rigid electron donor-acceptor conjugates (1-3) that combine π-extended benzodifurans as electron donors and C60 molecules as electron acceptors with different linkers have been synthesized and investigated with respect to intramolecular charge-transfer events. Electrochemistry, fluorescence, and transient absorption measurements revealed tunable and structure-dependent charge-transfer processes in the ground and excited states. Our experimental findings are underpinned by density-functional theory calculations.