Novel D-A type dyes based on BODIPY for solution processed organic polymer solar cells.

Abstract Boron dipyrromethene (BODIPY) derivatives have good optoelectronic properties and thermal stability. However, it is rarely for such materials to use in bulk heterojunction (BHJ) organic solar cell. In this study, a variety of donor-acceptor (D-A) type boron dipyrromethene (BODIPY) based dyes were designed and synthesized for polymer solar cells (PSCs), namely BDH1-4. Thermal stability, photochemical properties, charge transport and BHJ morphology were investigated to elucidate factors affecting the photovoltaic performance in this class of polymers. These BDHs exhibit fine solubility in conventional solvents, good thermal stability, excellent panchromatic absorption in solution and in film. Furthermore, the absorption wavelength of BDH1-4 covers full color absorption in the range of 300–800 nm and has a relatively low HOMO level from −5.01 to −5.66 eV. Among them, BDH4 / PC 71 BM based PSCs exhibit highest power conversion efficiency (PCE) of 3.69% with a Jsc of 9.92 mA cm−2, a Voc of 0.63 V and a FF of 59.1%. Graphical abstract Four D-A type BODIPY based dyes were designed and synthesized for polymer solar cells (PSCs). All these polymers show appealing photovoltaic performance. Among them, BDH4/PC 71 BM based PSC exhibit not only good photoelectric characteristic but also good hole mobility and surface morphology relative to the other counterparts and thus pronounce to a higher PCE of 3.69% with a Jsc of 9.92 mA cm−2 and a FF of 59.1%. Image 1 Highlights • A series of novel D-A type dyes based on BODIPY were synthesized for PSCs. • Polymer BDH4 exhibited the highest PCE value of 3.69% with PC 71 BM. • Several factors influencing the efficiency of PSCs were demonstrated. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]