Benzothiadiazole Versus Thiophene: Influence of the Auxiliary Acceptor on the Photovoltaic Properties of Donor-Acceptor-Based Copolymers

Two donor-acceptor (D-A) type conjugated copolymers, P1 and P2, are designed and synthesized. A classical benzothiadiazole acceptor is used to replace a thiophene unit in the polymer chain of P1 to obtain P2 terpolymer. Compared with P1, P2 exhibits broader absorption spectra, higher absorption coefficient, deeper lowest unoccupied molecular orbital level, and a relatively lower band gap. As a result, the P2-based solar cell exhibits a high power conversion efficiency (PCE) of 6.60%, with a short-circuit current (J(sc)) of 12.43 mA cm(-2), and a fill factor (FF) of 73.1%, which are higher than those of the P1-based device with a PCE of 4.70%, a J(sc) of 9.43 mA cm(-2), and an FF of 61.6%.