Issue 39, 2019

Electron transport and ultrafast spectroscopic studies of new methanofullerenes bearing a heteroatom in the exohedral chain

Abstract

Fullerene derivatives (C60 and C70) have been widely used in excitonic solar cells due to their exceptional electron accepting properties and low reorganization energies. In recent years, a wide variety of fullerene-based n-type materials have been developed, showing tremendous potential in the field of organic photovoltaics. However, only a few studies have been performed on heteroatom bearing methanofullerenes and their opto-electronic properties for use as n-type organic semiconductor materials. In the present study, we report the synthesis of two mono-substituted methanofullerene derivatives, i.e., C60-Th (Product 1) and C60-TPA (Product 2), with a heteroatom (S and N, respectively) in the exohedral chain attached via an ethylene linker to the cyclopropane ring, and a comprehensive study of their photophysical and electrochemical properties. The methanofullerene derivatives have been synthesized using an amine-assisted cycloaddition (AACA) reaction method. The structures of the synthesized products were established via different spectroscopic techniques. Reasonable quenching efficiencies were observed with respect to the fluorescence emission in mixtures with the donor polymer P3HT using both methanofullerenes. The electron transport properties were evaluated through fabricating electron-only devices, and 10 and 6 times higher mobilities were found compared to PC61BM for Products 1 and 2, respectively. Finally, the charge transfer properties were evaluated in mixtures with P3HT via transient absorption spectroscopy to study the ultrafast charge separation and formation of long-lived charge-separated states. The study suggests that both the products show excellent electron transport properties and the formation of longer-lived charge-separated states in mixtures with the donor polymer for use as n-type materials for organic solar cells.

Graphical abstract: Electron transport and ultrafast spectroscopic studies of new methanofullerenes bearing a heteroatom in the exohedral chain

Supplementary files

Article information

Article type
Paper
Submitted
13 Aug 2019
Accepted
05 Sep 2019
First published
05 Sep 2019

New J. Chem., 2019,43, 15626-15635

Electron transport and ultrafast spectroscopic studies of new methanofullerenes bearing a heteroatom in the exohedral chain

S. Naqvi, N. Vasistha, M. Kumar and R. Kumar, New J. Chem., 2019, 43, 15626 DOI: 10.1039/C9NJ04188E

To request permission to reproduce material from this article, please go to the Copyright Clearance Center request page.

If you are an author contributing to an RSC publication, you do not need to request permission provided correct acknowledgement is given.

If you are the author of this article, you do not need to request permission to reproduce figures and diagrams provided correct acknowledgement is given. If you want to reproduce the whole article in a third-party publication (excluding your thesis/dissertation for which permission is not required) please go to the Copyright Clearance Center request page.

Read more about how to correctly acknowledge RSC content.

Social activity

Spotlight

Advertisements