Design of Thienothiophene-Based Copolymers with Various Side Chain-End Groups for Efficient Polymer Solar Cells

Three two-dimensional donor–acceptor conjugated copolymers consisting of a benzo[1,2-b:4,5-b′]dithiophene derivative and thieno[3,2-b]thiophene with a conjugated side chain were designed and synthesized for use in bulk heterojunction (BHJ) or nonfullerene polymer solar cells (PSCs). Through attaching various acceptor end groups to the conjugated side chain on the thieno[3,2-b]thiophene moiety, the electronic, photophysical, and morphological properties of these copolymers were significantly affected. It was found that the intermolecular charge transfer interactions were enhanced with the increase in the acceptor strength on the thieno[3,2-b]thiophene moiety. Moreover, a better microphase separation was obtained in the copolymer: PC71BM or ITIC blend films when a strong acceptor end group on the thieno[3,2-b]thiophene moiety was used. As a result, BHJ PSCs based on copolymer:PC71BM blend films as active layers exhibited power conversion efficiencies from 2.82% to 4.41%, while those of nonfullerene copolymer:ITIC-based inverted PSCs ranged from 6.09% to 7.25%. These results indicate the side-chain engineering on the end groups of thieno[3,2-b]thiophene unit through a vinyl bridge linkage is an effective way to adjust the photophysical properties of polymers and morphology of blend films, and also have a significant influence on devices performance.