Donor–acceptor copolymers based on benzo[1,2-b:4,5-b′]dithiophene and pyrene-fused phenazine for high-performance polymer solar cells

Two novel donor–acceptor (D–A)-type conjugated polymers of PTTPPz-BDT and PTTPPz-BDTT were successfully synthesized by Stille coupling polymerization, in which 7,8-dialkoxy benzo1,2-b:4,5-b′]dithiophene (BDT) and 7,8-bithienyl benzo1,2-b:4,5-b′]dithiophene (BDTT) were used as donor units, thiophene and pyrene-fused phenazine (PPz) were employed as π-bridges and acceptor units, respectively. High carrier mobilities, broad absorption spectra, narrow optical band gaps, and low HOMO energy levels were observed for both polymers. Furthermore, high-efficiency photovoltaic performance with power conversion efficiency (PCE) over 4.25% was exhibited in their polymer solar cells (PSCs) using 6,6]-phenyl-C₇₁-butyric-acid-methyl-ester (PC₇₁BM) as acceptor. The maximum PCE of 4.86% with short-circuit current density of 11.10 mA cm⁻² and fill factor of 62.5% was obtained in the PTTPPz-BDTT based cell. These results indicate that incorporating large planar PPz moiety into D–A-type copolymer is an efficient approach to improve photovoltaic performance for PSCs.