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Cyclopenta[c]thiophene‐4,6‐dione‐Based Copolymers as Organic Photovoltaic Donor Materials
Author(s) -
Owczarczyk Zbyslaw R.,
Braunecker Wade A.,
Oosterhout Stefan D.,
Kopidakis Nikos,
Larsen Ross E.,
Ginley David S.,
Olson Dana C.
Publication year - 2014
Publication title -
advanced energy materials
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 10.08
H-Index - 220
eISSN - 1614-6840
pISSN - 1614-6832
DOI - 10.1002/aenm.201301821
Subject(s) - materials science , cyclic voltammetry , thiophene , organic solar cell , copolymer , absorbance , photovoltaics , conjugated system , polymer , fullerene , photovoltaic system , optoelectronics , chemical engineering , electrochemistry , organic chemistry , optics , composite material , chemistry , electrode , ecology , physics , biology , engineering
A class of “push‐pull” conjugated copolymers based on cyclopenta[c]thiophene‐4,6‐dione (CTD) and benzodithiophene (BDT) is synthesized for application as an electron donor in organic photovoltaics (OPV). Given the diverse electronic and structural tunability of the CTD unit, specific CTD‐containing copolymers are chosen with the aid of theoretical calculations from a broad array of potential candidate materials. Evaluation of the chosen materials as OPV absorbers includes characterization of the optical, electronic, and structural properties of the polymer films using UV‐vis absorbance, photoluminescence, cyclic voltammetry, and X‐ray diffraction techniques. In addition, the contactless time‐resolved microwave conductivity (TRMC) technique is used to measure the photoconductance of polymer/fullerene blends. Excellent correlation between measured photoconductance and OPV device efficiency is demonstrated with these materials and TRMC is discussed as a tool for screening potential active layer materials for OPV devices.