Diketopyrrolopyrrole (DPP) pigments have been widely used in inks, paints, and plastics since it was first developed back in the early 1970s. The DPP-based materials were gradually exploited by optical and electrical applications for the excellent fluorescent properties and good charge carrier mobility. In recent years, great interest has been focused on developing organic photovoltaic functional materials containing a DPP core and attractive efficiencies have been achieved. This feature article describes the application of DPP-based materials, highlighting the applications in optoelectrical fields.

No abstract

Two novel metal-free dyes (DPP-I and DPP-II) with a diketopyrrolopyrrole (DPP) core were synthesized for dye-sensitized solar cells (DSSCs). The absorption spectra and electrochemical and photovoltaic properties of DPP-I and DPP-II were extensively investigated. Electrochemical measurement data indicate that the tuning of the HOMO and LUMO energy levels can be conveniently accomplished by alternating the π-conjugated systems. Besides, coadsorption of chenodeoxycholic acid (CDCA) can hinder the formation of dye aggregates and might improve electron injection yield and, thus, J sc. This has also led to a rise in the photovoltage, which is attributed to the decrease of charge recombination. The DSSC based on dye DPP-I showed better photovoltaic performance: a maximum monochromatic incident photon-to-current conversion efficiency (IPCE) of 80%, a short-circuit photocurrent density (J sc) of 9.78 mA cm−2, an open-circuit photovoltage (V oc) of 605 mV, and a fill factor (FF) of 0.69, corresponding to an overall conversion efficiency of 4.14% under standard global AM 1.5 solar light condition. This work suggests that the metal-free dyes based on a DPP core are promising candidates for improvement of the performance of DSSCs.

Conducting polymers are potential candidates for thermoelectric (TE) applications owing to their low thermal conductivity, non-toxicity and low cost. However, the coil conformation and random aggregation of polymer chains usually degrade electrical transport properties, thus deteriorating TE performance. In this work, we fabricated poly(3-hexylthiophene) (P3HT) films with highly oriented morphology using 1,3,5-trichlorobenzene (TCB), an organic small-molecule, as a template for polymer epitaxy under a temperature gradient crystallization process. The resulting P3HT molecules, which were confirmed to be highly anisotropic by a combination of scanning electron microscopy, atomic force microscopy, polarizing microscope, polarized Raman spectroscopy, and two-dimensional-grazing incidence X-ray diffraction (GIXRD) analysis, not only markedly reduced the conjugated defects along the polymer backbone, but also effectively increased the degree of electron delocalization. These combined phenomena produced an efficient, 1D path for carrier movement and therefore resulted in enhanced carrier mobility in the TCB-treated P3HT films. The maximum values of the electrical conductivity and Seebeck coefficient were 320 S cm À1 and 269 μV K À1 , respectively. Consequently, the maximum TE power factor and ZT value at 365 K reached 62.4 μW mK À2 and 0.1, respectively, in the parallel direction of the TCB-treated P3HT film. To the best of our knowledge, these are the highest values reported for pure P3HT TE materials. The method of using organic small-molecule epitaxy to generate highly anisotropic polymer films is expected to be valid for many conducting polymers.

A novel D-A-π-A type organic dye (YCD01) incorporating a diketopyrrolopyrrole unit with a branched alkyl chain was synthesized for dye-sensitized solar cells. YCD01 showed a high conversion efficiency of 7.43% (AM 1.5, 100 mW cm(-2)) with a J(sc) of 13.40 mA cm(-2), a V(oc) of 0.76 V, a FF of 0.73 and an excellent stability.

Single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWNTs)/polyaniline (PANI) composite films with enhanced thermoelectric properties were prepared by combining in situ polymerization and solution processing. Conductive atomic force microscopy and X-ray diffraction measurements confirmed that solution processing and strong π-π interactions between the PANI and SWNTs induced the PANI molecules to form a highly ordered structure. The improved degree of order of the PANI molecular arrangement increased the carrier mobility and thereby enhanced the electrical transport properties of PANI. The maximum in-plane electrical conductivity and power factor of the SWNTs/PANI composite films reached 1.44×10(3)  S cm(-1) and 217 μW m(-1)  K(-2) , respectively, at room temperature. Furthermore, a thermoelectric generator fabricated with the SWNTs/PANI composite films showed good electric generation ability and stability. A high power density of 10.4 μW cm(-2)  K(-1) was obtained, which is superior to most reported results obtained in organic thermoelectric modules.

Ternary PANI/SWNT/Te nanocomposite films with high thermoelectric properties were obtained through the rational design of nanostructures and energy barriers.

The inhibitor-dependent poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene) (PEDOT) fabrication suffers major problems in the areas of controllability and film thickness. In this work, we found that anions play a key role in both the polymerization and the structure of PEDOT. As a precursor, anions greatly influence the reaction rate and oxidant solubility. In its role as a counter-ion, the anions also affect chain conductance and crystal growth. With these behaviors in mind, a self-inhibited polymerization approach using novel oxidants with appropriate anions was successfully developed to facilitate the fabrication of high quality in situ polymerized PEDOT films and solve the thickness limitation problem. Inhibitor-free heavy oxidative solutions with weakly basic anions enable the spin-coating of thick and homogeneous oxidant layers and also effectively inhibit both the crystallization of the oxidant and H + formation throughout the polymerization process. PEDOT: dodecylbenzenesulfonate (PEDOT:DBSA) exhibits the highest performance among all candidates due to its appropriate anion basicity and low steric effect. An extremely high doping level of 42.9% is achieved, and an electrical conductivity of~1100 S cm − 1 is successfully maintained for film thicknesses between 310 nm and 1.79 μm. In addition, the thermoelectric power factor (RT) for pristine films was improved to 77.2 μW mK − 2 from 69.6 μW mK − 2 by the dedoping treatment. This study provides a new approach for fabricating high performance PEDOT thick films using anion-based design. NPG Asia Materials (2017) 9, e405; doi:10.1038/am.2017.107; published online 14 July 2017 INTRODUCTION Thermoelectric (TE) materials realize direct conversion between heat and electricity, which can be used in refrigeration and power generation. The performance of TE materials is characterized by the ZT value (S 2 σT/κ) or power factor (S 2 σ), where S, σ, T and κ are the Seebeck coefficient, electrical conductivity, absolute temperature and thermal conductivity, respectively. Conducting polymer TE materials possess the advantages of low κ, good flexibility and low cost in comparison with inorganic materials. 1-4 Among them, commercially available PEDOT:polystyrenesulfonate (PEDOT:PSS) has received the most attention due to its excellent water processability and high σ ( refs 5-11 ) and is also widely used as an electrode or conductive adhesive material in applications including solar cells, 12,13 organic light-emitting diodes (OLEDs), 14,15 supercapacitors, 16,17 sensors 18,19 and so on. The PSS polyanion enables the formation of aqueous PEDOT:PSS solutions, which benefits both film printing and the synthesis of hybrid materials. However, such PSS-based processes also experience difficulties with performance optimization. For example, the insulating PSS lamellas remain in the polymer matrix, 20,21 resulting in an amorphous polymer 22 with limited σ and S. 5,9 Compared to PEDOT:PSS, PEDOT doped with smallsized anions (S-PEDOTs), such as tosylate (OTs) or triflate (OTf), have greater potential...