Enhanced Photovoltaic Efficiency via Control of Self-Assembly in Cyanopyridone-Based Oligothiophene Donors

The optoelectronic properties of functional π-conjugated organic materials are affected by their ability to self-assemble within thin films of devices. There are limited reports that demonstrate the positive impact of self-assembly on the photovoltaic performance of organic solar cells. Here, we demonstrate that hydrogen-bonded supramolecular arrays of a cyanopyridone-based oligothiophene donor, CP6, show notable improvement in photovoltaic performance upon self-assembly into a nanofibrous network. The honeycomb-like blend network exhibited higher hole mobility, leading to efficient charge generation and transport. The photovoltaic performance of CP6 was superior to that of two structural analogues, CP5 and CP1, and was attributed to the enhanced capability of CP6 to self-assemble into a film morphology favorable for BHJ devices. The BHJ devices comprising CP6 and the conventional fullerene acceptor (PC71BM) exhibited an efficiency of 7.26%, which is greater than that of CP5 (5.19%) and CP1 (3.11%) and is among the best-performing, cyanopyridone-based oligothiophene donors described to date.