A brominated M3 based non-fullerene acceptor: synthesis, material and photovoltaic properties†

Elena Zuccalà, Suman Mallick, Lea Marie Habich, Heinz Amenitsch, Thomas Rath*, Gregor Trimmel*

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

Abstract

Molecular structure engineering has proved to be an efficient strategy to modify the properties of photoactive materials for organic solar cells. Several studies focused on the halogenation of donor and acceptor molecules, in order to tune the energy levels, the absorption properties or the molecular packing of the materials. In particular, bromination of small-molecule acceptors increases the film crystallinity of the bulk heterojunction, leading to higher charge carrier mobilities, and therefore, to a more efficient charge transport. In this study, we synthesized a mono-brominated non-fullerene acceptor derived from end-group modification of the M3 acceptor. This material showed slightly higher energy levels than M3 and a higher p–p stacking distance due to the larger size of bromine atoms compared to the fluorine atoms in M3. In addition, a second acceptor with non-halogenated rhodanine-based end groups was synthesized and investigated. While solar cells based on the latter NFA only showed negligible efficiencies, solar cells fabricated with the mono-brominated acceptor C1 and the conjugated polymer PM6 revealed power conversion efficiencies up to 11.6%.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)3974-3983
Number of pages10
JournalNew Journal of Chemistry
Volume48
Issue number9
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 8 Feb 2024

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Catalysis
  • General Chemistry
  • Materials Chemistry

Fields of Expertise

  • Advanced Materials Science

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