Synthesis of a Low-Cost Thiophene-Indoloquinoxaline Polymer Donor and Its Application to Polymer Solar Cells

Abstract

A simple wide-bandgap conjugated polymer based on indoloquinoxaline unit (PIQ) has been newly designed and synthesized via cheap and commercially available starting materials. The basic physicochemical properties of the PIQ have been investigated. PIQ possesses a broad and strong absorption band in the wavelength range of 400~660 nm with a bandgap of 1.80 eV and lower-lying highest occupied molecular orbital energy level of −5.58 eV. Polymer solar cells based on PIQ and popular acceptor Y6 blend display a preliminarily optimized power conversion efficiency of 6.4%. The results demonstrate indoloquinoxaline is a promising building unit for designing polymer donor materials for polymer solar cells.