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  • Research Article   
  • J Mater Sci Nanomater, Vol 2(1): 103

Thiophene, Benzothiadiazole Copolymers: Synthesis, Optoelectronic Properties and Electrical Characterization for Photovoltaic Application

Ashraf A El-Shehawy1*, Nabiha I Abdo2, Ahmed A El-Barbary3, Jin Woo Choi4, Hamdy S El-Sheshtawy1 and Jae-Suk Lee4
1Department of Chemistry, Kafrelsheikh University, Egypt
2Higher Institute of Engineering and Technology, , Egypt
3Department of Chemistry, Tanta University, Egypt
4School of Material Science and Engineering, The Grubbs Center for Polymers and Catalysis and Research Institute for Solar and Sustainable Energy, Gwangju Institute of Science and Technology, , Republic of Korea
*Corresponding Author : Ashraf A El-Shehawy, Faculty of Science, Department of Chemistry, Kafrelsheikh University, Egypt, Tel: 0473214998, Email: elshehawy65@yahoo.com

Received Date: Dec 30, 2017 / Accepted Date: Jan 30, 2018 / Published Date: Feb 05, 2018

Abstract

Several donor-acceptor π-conjugated copolymers were synthesized by combining 4,7-bis(3,3’/4,4’- hexylthiophene-2-yl)benzo[c][2,1,3]thiadiazoles (HT-BzT-HT) with different donor segments, including thiophene, 2,2`-bithiophene, thieno[3,2-b]thiophene and dithieno[3,2-b;2’,3’-d]thiophene via Stille cross-coupling methodology, under microwave irradiation. All copolymers exhibited good solubility in most common organic solvents and showed high thermal stabilities. The revealed relationships between the molecular structure and optoelectronic properties were discussed. Each of DFT/TDDFT theoretical calculations and experimental measurements showed that moving the hexyl side chains from 3,3’- to 4,4’- positions in the thiophene rings of HT-BzT-HT units leads to a decrease both optical and electroChemical band gaps. Electrochemical characterization showed that the estimated HOMO and LUMO energy levels are in the range of -5.18 eV to -5.60 eV and -3.25 to -3.53 eV, respectively. The PCE of 1.91% was obtained from P10/PC60BM based device with Voc of 0.64 V, Jsc of 5.68 mA/cm2 and fill factor of 64%.

Keywords: π-conjugated copolymers; Solar cell; Benzothiadiazole; Cross-coupling

Citation: El-Shehawy AA, Abdo NI, El-Barbary AA, Choi JW, El-Sheshtawy HS, et al. (2018) Thiophene, Benzothiadiazole Copolymers: Synthesis, Optoelectronic Properties and Electrical Characterization for Photovoltaic Application. J Mater Sci Nanomater 2: 103.

Copyright: © 2018 El-Shehawy AA, et al. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.

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