Effect of oxadiazole side chains based on alternating fluorene–thiophene copolymers for photovoltaic cells

Three soluble alternating conjugated copolymers, comprised of 9,9-dihexylfluorene and thiophene derivatives with/without oxadiazole side chains, were synthesized via the palladium-catalyzed Suzuki coupling reaction. The structures of the polymers were confirmed with 1H NMR and 13C NMR, and the effect of oxadiazole side chains on the thermal, optical, electrochemical and photovoltaic properties were investigated. The introduction of rigid oxadiazole side chains could benefit to improve thermal stabilities of the conjugated polymers. Cyclic voltammograms revealed that the LUMO energy levels of P2 and P3 were reduced in comparison with P1 due to the introduction of electron-deficient oxadiazole side chains, indicating that electron-injection and transporting properties have been improved. Photovoltaic cells (PVCs) were fabricated based on the blend of the as-synthesized copolymers and the fullerene acceptor [6,6]-phenyl-C61-butyric acid methyl ester (PCBM) in a 1:1 weight ratio. The maximum power conversion efficiency (PCE = 1.49%) was obtained for P3 as the electron donor under the illumination of AM 1.5, 100 mW/cm2.