Synthesis of Graft Copolymers and Their Preliminary Use as a Compatibilizer in Polymer Solar Cells

Poly(p-xylylene)-graft-poly(butylacrylate-g-fullerene) or PPX-g-PBAFu was synthesized by using Wessling route and atom transfer radical addition (ATRA) techniques. The graft copolymers were used as a compatibilizer in the bulk heterojunction (BHJ) polymer solar cells of poly(3-hexylthiophene) (P3HT) and fullerene (C₆₀). The results from AFM micrographs showed that the phase size of P3HT and the aggregated C₆₀ in the blended system was decreased from 300 to 30 nm after adding the copolymer (20 pph). Furthermore, the efficiencies of the BHJ cells from J-V curve were remarkably increased five times after adding the copolymer.