Strategic Structural Modification of Quinoxaline-Based D–A-Type Polymers via Tuning Electron-Withdrawing Substituents for Photovoltaic Applications
The development of high-performance polymer donors is crucial to advancing polymer solar cell technology. In this study, a set of quinoxaline (Qx)-based D-A-type polymer donors was systematically developed by introducing various electron-withdrawing substituents to tailor their photovoltaic properties. First, a reference polymer, <b>PDBT-QxF</b>, was rationally designed by linking an electron-donating dithienobenzodithiophene (DTBDT) unit and a monofluorinated Qx via a thiophene linker. Subsequently, chlorinated <b>PDBTCl-QxF</b> was synthesized by introducing additional Cl atoms on the thienyl side groups of the DTBDT donor in <b>PDBT-QxF</b>. Next, the F atoms on the Qx units of <b>PDBT-QxF</b> and <b>PDBTCl-QxF</b> were replaced with the stronger electron-withdrawing cyano (CN) group to yield two cyanated polymers, <b>PDBT-QxCN</b> and <b>PDBTCl-QxCN</b>, respectively. Structural modifications via the introduction of Cl atoms and CN moieties into the DTBDT donor and Qx acceptor positively altered the electronic structures of the polymers and enhanced their charge-carrier mobilities, while suppressing charge recombination. Therefore, attributing to the synergistic effects of the Cl and CN substituents, <b>PDBTCl-QxCN</b> exhibited the highest power conversion efficiency of 15.17% among the studied polymers: <b>PDBT-QxF</b> (9.29%), <b>PDBTCl-QxF</b> (12.09%), and <b>PDBT-QxCN</b> (12.66%).
Authors
- Jung Won Yoon (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5585-819X)
- Byoung Hoon Lee (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5176-9838)
- Dong Wook Chang (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0326-5034)
- Hyosung Choi (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4573-9012)
- Jeong Heo (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0961-7851)
- Jincheol Kim (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7374-2740)
- Hyungju Ahn (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4112-526X)
- Kilwon Cho (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0321-3629)
- Sein Chung (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3953-5208)
- Yifan Yu (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5860-9439)
- Dong‐Won Kang (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4818-8108)
- Dong Ryeol Whang (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8402-2140)
- Hyeonjin Yoo (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2651-8046)
- Juan Anthony Prayogo
- S. Lee (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2511-6723)
Institutions
- Hannam University (KR)
- Pohang University of Science and Technology (KR)
- Ewha Womans University (KR)
- Materials and Energy Research Center (IR)
- Ewha Womans University Medical Center (KR)
- Renewable Energy Systems (United States) (US)
- Applied Natural Sciences (US)
- Sustainable Energy Systems (United Kingdom) (GB)
- Pohang Accelerator Laboratory
- The University of Texas at San Antonio (US)
- Hanyang University (KR)
- Chung-Ang University (KR)
- Pukyong National University (KR)
- Macquarie University (AU)
Publication Details
- Journal
- ACS Applied Materials & Interfaces
- Published
- 2025-08-15
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.1021/acsami.5c12330
- Citations
- 1
- Primary Topic
- Organic Electronics and Photovoltaics
- Type
- article
- Field-Weighted Citation Impact
- 0.73
Funders
- Hanyang University
- Pukyong National University
- Korea Basic Science Institute
- National Research Foundation of Korea
- Institute for Information and Communications Technology Promotion