Volume 46, Issue 10 pp. 13393-13408
RESEARCH ARTICLE

Discovery of versatile bat-shaped acceptor materials for high-performance organic solar cells - a DFT approach

Sabir Ali Siddique

Sabir Ali Siddique

Center for Organic Chemistry, School of Chemistry, University of the Punjab, Lahore, Pakistan

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Sadia Altaf

Sadia Altaf

Department of Chemistry, University of Sialkot, Sialkot, Pakistan

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Ejaz Ahmed

Ejaz Ahmed

Center for Organic Chemistry, School of Chemistry, University of the Punjab, Lahore, Pakistan

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Sabiha Naveed

Sabiha Naveed

Center for Organic Chemistry, School of Chemistry, University of the Punjab, Lahore, Pakistan

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Muhammad Bilal Ahmed Siddique

Muhammad Bilal Ahmed Siddique

School of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Shandong University, Jinan, China

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Riaz Hussain

Corresponding Author

Riaz Hussain

Department of Chemistry, University of Okara, Okara, Pakistan

Correspondence

Riaz Hussain, Department of Chemistry, University of Okara, Okara, 56300, Pakistan.

Email: [email protected]

Xin Liu, State Key Laboratory of Fine Chemicals, Department of Chemistry, Dalian University of Technology, Dalian, 116024, People's Republic of China.

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Muhammad Arshad, Institute of Chemistry, The Islamia University of Bahawalpur, Baghdad-ul-Jadeed Campus, Bahawalpur, 63100, Pakistan.

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Xin Liu

Corresponding Author

Xin Liu

State Key Laboratory of Fine Chemicals, Department of Chemistry, Dalian University of Technology, Dalian, People's Republic of China

Correspondence

Riaz Hussain, Department of Chemistry, University of Okara, Okara, 56300, Pakistan.

Email: [email protected]

Xin Liu, State Key Laboratory of Fine Chemicals, Department of Chemistry, Dalian University of Technology, Dalian, 116024, People's Republic of China.

Email: [email protected]

Muhammad Arshad, Institute of Chemistry, The Islamia University of Bahawalpur, Baghdad-ul-Jadeed Campus, Bahawalpur, 63100, Pakistan.

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Abdul Rauf

Abdul Rauf

Institute of Chemistry, The Islamia University of Bahawalpur, Baghdad-ul-Jadeed Campus, Bahawalpur, Pakistan

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Muhammad Arshad

Corresponding Author

Muhammad Arshad

Institute of Chemistry, The Islamia University of Bahawalpur, Baghdad-ul-Jadeed Campus, Bahawalpur, Pakistan

Correspondence

Riaz Hussain, Department of Chemistry, University of Okara, Okara, 56300, Pakistan.

Email: [email protected]

Xin Liu, State Key Laboratory of Fine Chemicals, Department of Chemistry, Dalian University of Technology, Dalian, 116024, People's Republic of China.

Email: [email protected]

Muhammad Arshad, Institute of Chemistry, The Islamia University of Bahawalpur, Baghdad-ul-Jadeed Campus, Bahawalpur, 63100, Pakistan.

Email: [email protected]

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First published: 18 May 2022
Citations: 34

Funding information: University of the Punjab; National Natural Science Foundation of China, Grant/Award Numbers: 21573034, 21771029

Summary

To address the growing demand for competent photovoltaic materials, the electronic structure, and optoelectronic properties of eight molecules X1 (thieno[3,2-b]thiophene), X2 (5,5′-bithiazole), X3 (2,2′-bithiophene), X4 (furan), X5 (1H-pyrrole), X6 (furo[3,2-b]furan), X7 (5-(1H-imidazol-5-yl)oxazole), X8 (3H,3′H-4,4′-biimidazole) designed via π-spacer modification were investigated by extensive density functional theory (DFT) based calculations. The calculated HOMO-LUMO energy (Eg) values of these designed molecules are less than alkoxy-substituted benzothiadiazole and a rhodamine end group reference (R, Eg = 2.55 eV), whereas X8 shows the lowest (Eg = 2.17 eV) suggesting a greater charge transfer rate upon blending with donor polymer PTB7-Th. The values of open-circuit voltages for designed molecules are 2.30, 2.52, 2.23, 2.52, 2.37, 2.19, 2.53, and 2.18 V for X1-X8, respectively, where X3, X6, and X8 shown lower voltages than the reference R (2.30 V). Similarly, the 0.13 eV difference of reorganization energy value of X1 compared to reference R, demonstrates higher charge transfer by X1 due to its lower hole mobility. The findings suggest potentially superior performance of organic solar cells (OSCs) fabricated with the designed molecules (X1-X8).

CONFLICT OF INTEREST

There are no conflicts to declare.

DATA AVAILABILITY STATEMENT

The data that support the findings of this study are available from the corresponding author upon reasonable request.

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