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Linear main-chain polymers (P1, P2 and P3) have been synthesised and characterised. The polymers were designed to understand the rigidity of the mesogen’s linking groups and its effect on transition temperature. The liquid crystalline behaviour of these polymers was investigated using polarised optical microscopy and differential scanning calorimetry. All polymers exhibited phase transition on heating and cooling runs. The mesophase stability decreases with the decrease of rigidity of the second mesogen (P2>P1>P3). Similarly, the enthalpy and entropy changes are dependent on the rigidity of the second mesogen (Mesogen B). Polymer P1 undergoes photoisomerisation under UV-visible light irradiation and it attains a photo-stationary state at 275 s. This provides an opportunity to investigate the third-order non-linear optical properties. The non-linear behaviour of polymer P1 in chloroform presents a distinct deviation in a different concentration, where polymer P1 also exhibits a negative non-linear ...

Hole transport materials (HTMs) with different hole extraction abilities play an important role in dictating the efficiency of the perovskite solar cells (PSCs). Besides, employing a donor acceptor (D-A) random copolymer HTM to bring out deeper HOMO energy level is highly beneficial to the hole extraction and durability of PSCs. In this context, a highly soluble D-A based random copolymeric benzodithiophene-thienopyrroledione-thienothiophene derivatives (RCP-BTT) HTM has been derived from the backbone structure of Poly({4,8-bis[(2-ethylhexyl)oxy]benzo[1,2-b:4,5-b′]dithiophene-2,6-diyl}{3-fluoro-2-[(2-ethylhexyl)carbonyl]thieno[3,4-b]thiophenediyl}) (PTB7). The synthesized dopant-free RCP-BTT HTM shows a deeper HOMO energy level (−5.28 eV) due to its high compatibility than PTB7 level (−5.15 eV) based on perovskite energy level. Gradient band alignment of RCP-BTT has provided efficient hole extraction in the PSCs made of Cs-containing triple cation perovskite as absorber resulting in the efficient photovoltaic performance of RCP-BTT. The RCP-BTT with dopant shows significantly increased Voc (1.09 V) with respect to that of parent PTB7 (Voc of 1.06 V), resulting in an enhanced efficiency of 14.57% than that of PTB7 (12.02%). On the whole, the improvement in photovoltaic performance of PSC based on the polymeric RCP-BTT HTM is attributable to its deeper HOMO energy level and exceptional hole extraction ability.

Organic thin film solar cells (OTFSCs) were fabricated with blended active layers of poly[[4,8-bis[(2-ethylhexyl)oxy]benzo[1,2-b:4,5-b′]dithiophene-2,6-diyl][3-fluoro-2-[(2-ethylhexyl)carbonyl]thieno[3,4-b]thiophenediyl]] (PTB7)/[6,6]-phenyl-C71-butyric (PC71BM). The performances of active layers are prepared in chlorobenzene (CB) with different additives of 1-chloronaphthalene (CN) and 1,8-Diiodooctane (DIO) by a wet process with spin coating technique. The effects of different solvent additives on photovoltaic parameters such as fill factor, short circuit current density, and power conversion efficiency of active layers are reported. The absorption and surface morphology of the active layers are investigated using UV-visible spectroscopy and atomic force microscopy, respectively. The results indicate that structural and morphological changes were induced by the additives with solvent. The current density-voltage (J-V) characteristics of photovoltaic cells were measured under the illumination of simulated solar light with 100 mW/cm2(AM 1.5 G) by an Oriel 1000 W solar simulator. The OTFSCs of PTB7/PC71BM prepared with organic solvent additives of DIO+CN show more improved PCE of 4.96% by spin coating method.

The organic thin film solar cells (OTFSCs) have been successfully fabricated using PCDTBT : PC71BM with different mixing ratios (1 : 1 to 1 : 8) and the influence of hole transport layer thickness (PEDOT : PSS). The active layers with different mixing ratios of PCDTBT : PC71BM have been fabricated using o-dichlorobenzene (o-DCB). The surface morphology of the active layers and PEDOT : PSS layer with different thicknesses were characterized by AFM analysis. Here, we report that the OTFSCs with high performance have been optimized with 1 : 4 ratios of PCDTBT : PC71BM. The power conversion efficiency (PCE = 5.17%) of the solar cells was significantly improved by changing thickness of PEDOT : PSS layer. The thickness of the PEDOT : PSS layer was found to be of significant importance; the thickness of the PEDOT : PSS layer at 45 nm (higher spin speed 5000 rpm) shows higher short circuit current density (Jsc) and lower series resistance (Rs) and higher PCE.