End Group Effect of Asymmetric Benzodithiophene-Based Donor with Liquid-Crystal State for Small-Molecule Binary Solar Cell
Yong Zhao
School of Materials Science and Engineering, Ocean University of China, Qingdao, 266100 China
Search for more papers by this authorZiwei Huang
School of Materials Science and Engineering, Ocean University of China, Qingdao, 266100 China
Search for more papers by this authorXiao Kang
School of Materials Science and Engineering, Ocean University of China, Qingdao, 266100 China
CAS Key Laboratory of Bio-based Materials, Qingdao Institute of Bioenergy and Bioprocess Technology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Qingdao, 266101 China
Search for more papers by this authorJifa Yu
Frontier Institute of Science and Technology, State Key Laboratory of Electrical Insulation and Power Equipment, Xi'an Jiaotong University, Xi'an, 710054 China
Search for more papers by this authorMinggeng Ding
School of Materials Science and Engineering, Ocean University of China, Qingdao, 266100 China
Search for more papers by this authorDeyu Liu
School of Materials Science and Engineering, Ocean University of China, Qingdao, 266100 China
Search for more papers by this authorGuanghao Lu
Frontier Institute of Science and Technology, State Key Laboratory of Electrical Insulation and Power Equipment, Xi'an Jiaotong University, Xi'an, 710054 China
Search for more papers by this authorXichang Bao
CAS Key Laboratory of Bio-based Materials, Qingdao Institute of Bioenergy and Bioprocess Technology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Qingdao, 266101 China
Search for more papers by this authorLiangmin Yu
Open Studio for Marine Corrosion and Protection, Pilot National Laboratory for Marine Science and Technology (Qingdao), Qingdao, 266100 China
Key Laboratory of Marine Chemistry Theory and Technology, Ministry of Education, Ocean University of China, Qingdao, 266100 China
Search for more papers by this authorCorresponding Author
Mingliang Sun
School of Materials Science and Engineering, Ocean University of China, Qingdao, 266100 China
Open Studio for Marine Corrosion and Protection, Pilot National Laboratory for Marine Science and Technology (Qingdao), Qingdao, 266100 China
Institute of Polymer Optoelectronic Materials and Devices, State Key Laboratory of Luminescent Materials and Devices, South China University of Technology, Guangzhou, 510640 China
E-mail: [email protected]
Search for more papers by this authorYong Zhao
School of Materials Science and Engineering, Ocean University of China, Qingdao, 266100 China
Search for more papers by this authorZiwei Huang
School of Materials Science and Engineering, Ocean University of China, Qingdao, 266100 China
Search for more papers by this authorXiao Kang
School of Materials Science and Engineering, Ocean University of China, Qingdao, 266100 China
CAS Key Laboratory of Bio-based Materials, Qingdao Institute of Bioenergy and Bioprocess Technology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Qingdao, 266101 China
Search for more papers by this authorJifa Yu
Frontier Institute of Science and Technology, State Key Laboratory of Electrical Insulation and Power Equipment, Xi'an Jiaotong University, Xi'an, 710054 China
Search for more papers by this authorMinggeng Ding
School of Materials Science and Engineering, Ocean University of China, Qingdao, 266100 China
Search for more papers by this authorDeyu Liu
School of Materials Science and Engineering, Ocean University of China, Qingdao, 266100 China
Search for more papers by this authorGuanghao Lu
Frontier Institute of Science and Technology, State Key Laboratory of Electrical Insulation and Power Equipment, Xi'an Jiaotong University, Xi'an, 710054 China
Search for more papers by this authorXichang Bao
CAS Key Laboratory of Bio-based Materials, Qingdao Institute of Bioenergy and Bioprocess Technology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Qingdao, 266101 China
Search for more papers by this authorLiangmin Yu
Open Studio for Marine Corrosion and Protection, Pilot National Laboratory for Marine Science and Technology (Qingdao), Qingdao, 266100 China
Key Laboratory of Marine Chemistry Theory and Technology, Ministry of Education, Ocean University of China, Qingdao, 266100 China
Search for more papers by this authorCorresponding Author
Mingliang Sun
School of Materials Science and Engineering, Ocean University of China, Qingdao, 266100 China
Open Studio for Marine Corrosion and Protection, Pilot National Laboratory for Marine Science and Technology (Qingdao), Qingdao, 266100 China
Institute of Polymer Optoelectronic Materials and Devices, State Key Laboratory of Luminescent Materials and Devices, South China University of Technology, Guangzhou, 510640 China
E-mail: [email protected]
Search for more papers by this authorAbstract
Liquid-crystal small molecule donor (LC-SMD) is a new type organic semiconductor, which is attractive not only for the easy synthesis and purification, well-defined chemical structures, etc., but also for the LC state that makes the crystallinity and aggregation state of molecules adjustable. Here, one new LC-SMD (a-BTR-H4) is synthesized with 1D alkoxyl and 2D thiophene-alkylthiol side-chained benzo[1,2-b:4,5-b′]dithiophene core, trithiophene π-bridge, and 3-(2-ethylhexyl) rhodanine end group. a-BTR-H4 shows low LC transition temperature, 117 °C, however, counterpart material (a-BTR-H5) with the same main structure but 3-ethyl rhodanine terminal group does not show LC properties. Although a-BTR-H4/H5 show similar Ultraviolet–visible absorption spectrum and energy levels, a-BTR-H4 affords relatively high photovoltaic performances due to favorable blend morphology produced by the consistent annealing temperature of Y6-based accepters and liquid crystal temperature of donors. Preliminary results indicate that a-BTR-H4 gains a power conversion efficiency (PCE) of 11.36% for Y6-based devices, which is ascribed to better light harvest as well as balanced carrier generation and transport, while a-BTR-H5 obtains 7.57% PCE. Therefore, some materials with unique nematic LC phase have great application potential in organic electronics, and further work to utilize a-BTR-H4 for high-performance device is underway.
Conflict of Interest
The authors declare no conflict of interest.
Open Research
Data Availability Statement
Research data are not shared.
Supporting Information
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