Fine tuning the HOMO energy levels of polythieno[3,4-b]thiophene derivatives by incorporation of thiophene-3,4-dicarboxylate moiety for photovoltaic applications

To lower the HOMO (highest occupied molecular orbital) energy level of polythieno[3,4-b]thiophene (∼−4.5 eV), a series of ester-functionalized polythieno[3,4-b]thiophene derivatives (P1–P3) were designed and synthesized by Stille cross coupling reaction. The resulting copolymers exhibited broad and strong absorption bands from visible to near infrared region with low optical band gaps of 1.23–1.42 eV. Through cyclic voltammetry measurements, it was found that the HOMO energy levels of the copolymers gradually decreased with increasing the content of the thiophene-3,4-dicarboxylate moiety, i.e. −4.91 eV for P1, −5.00 eV for P2, and −5.11 eV for P3. Preliminary photovoltaic properties of the copolymers blended with [6,6]-phenyl-C₆₁-butyric acid methyl ester (PCBM) as electron acceptor were investigated. Among the three copolymers, P1 exhibited the best photovoltaic performance with an open circuit voltage (V_oc) of 0.54 V, a short circuit current density (I_sc) of 3.3 mA/cm², a fill factor (FF) of 0.57, and a power conversion efficiency (PCE) of 1.02%. A high V_oc up to 0.71 V was achieved in the solar cell based on a P3:PCBM blend.     

钼在[BMP]Tf2N离子液体中的低温电沉积

研究了金属钼(Mo)在离子液体1-丁基-1-甲基吡咯烷双(三氟甲磺酰)亚胺盐中([BMP]Tf_2N)的电沉积。采用MoCl_5[BMP]Tf_2N离子液体体系作为电沉积的电解质,测定了不同温度下的伏安曲线(CV)。用恒电位法进行电沉积,沉积物通过扫描电镜(SEM)、能谱(EDS)、透射电镜(TEM)和光电子能谱(XPS)进行了观察和表征。结果表明,在25~120℃的温度范围内,当温度高于100℃时,Mo的电化学还原行为发生明显的变化。在120℃,Pt基板上,–2.2和–2.7V恒电位电沉积均能得到金属态的Mo。其中,–2.2V时得到非晶态的Mo,沉积层平整、无裂纹;–2.7V时得到晶态和非晶态混合的Mo,沉积层有裂纹。而在60℃,Mo(Ⅴ)还原后形成难溶产物以致无法得到Mo(0)。最后,对Mo的电化学还原机理进行了讨论。