Amphiphilic conjugated block copolymers for efficient bulk heterojunction solar cells

Abstract

International audienceThe synthesis of random and diblock copolymers of poly(3-alkylthiophene)s bearing polar substituents was successfully developed by GRIM polymerization. 3-Hexyl-thiophene was successfully copolymerised with a new derivative, 3-functionalised-thiophene (propyl 5-(2-(thiophen-3-yl)ethoxy)pentanoate), bearing an ester function. Under optimized conditions, this ester proved to be fully compatible with the Grignard metathesis polymerization. Saponification of the copolymer esters provided the corresponding polyacids. Photovoltaic properties of copolymers were investigated in bulk heterojunction devices with PC61BM as acceptor. Among all the amphiphilic copolymers, P3HT-b-P3AcidHT showed the best performance with a PCE of 4.2%, an open-circuit voltage (Voc) of 0.60 V, a short-circuit current density (Jsc) of 13.0 mA cm−2, and a fill factor (FF) of 0.60

On the mode of operation in electrolyte-gated thin film transistors based on different substituted polythiophenes

“…P3HT is purchased from Sigma (electronic grade, 15000-45000 u) and P3CPT is purchased from Rieke (Item #4032, 55000-65000 u). The third polymer, P3HT-COOH15, is synthesized and provided by Université Paris Diderot (~18000 u random co-polymer) [27] Solutions of the polymers are prepared by dissolving P3HT in 1,2-dichlorobenzene (oDCB) at a concentration of 10 mg/ml, P3CPT in dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO) at a concentration of 10 mg/ml and the co-polymer, P3HT-COOH15, is dissolved in oDCB at a concentration of approximately 10 mg/ml. The polymers are deposited on the bottom-electrode substrates by spin coating the solutions at 3000 rpm for 90 s, in ambient atmosphere, with the substrates heated to 150 °C.…”

“…Three different polythiophene derivatives with various ratio of anchoring groups are compared: poly-(3-hexyl-thiophene) P3HT (Figure 2a), poly-(3-carboxy-pentyl-thiphene) P3CPT (Figure 2b) and a random co-polymer P3HT-co-Poly-(3-ethoxypentanoic acid-thiophene) (monomer ratio 1:6, i.e. ~15% -COOH side chain end groups, P3HT-COOH15 [27][28]) (Figure 2c) are compared.…”

Novel Approaches in the Design of Donor-Acceptor Oligomeric and Polymeric Materials for Photovoltaic Applications: D/A Blend versus Self-assembly of D/A by Covalent or Non-Covalent Interaction

“…The chemical structure of some donor polymers exhibiting co-operative hydrogen bonding with C 60 (PCBM) derivatives are shown in Chart 9.Yasser et al developed random as well as diblock copolymers of poly (3-alkylthiophene)s (NC-1) bearing polar COOH group on the side chain by the GRIM polymerization route involving the protected acid functionality[125]. The block copolymer, P3HT-b-P3AcidHT had a short 95:5 acid component to overcome the reduced solubility of the rigid polyelectrolyte in organic solvents.…”

Copolythiophene-based water-gated organic field-effect transistors for biosensing

“…P3HT-COOH15 was synthesized following a procedure previously reported. [26][27][28] The random copolymer, poly([3-hexylthiophene-2,5-diyl]-co-[3-(6-ethylethoxy-pentanoate)thiophene-2,5-diyl]), P3HT-COOPr15, was 5 prepared by mixing the Grignard derivative of propyl 5-(2-(2,5-dibromothiophen-3-yl)ethoxy)pentanoate with (5-bromo-4-hexylthiophen-2-yl)magnesium bromide, at a molar ratio of 1:6. Polymerization was initiated by addition of a catalytic amount of Ni(dppp)Cl 2 , as described on Scheme 1.…”

“…26,27 The interest of a random copolymer instead of a block copolymer 45 is that the biotin groups are not located in the same polymer part but are dispersed over the whole chain, so that they are more accessible to big proteins such as (strept)avidin.…”