Low-cost synthesis of small molecule acceptors makes polymer solar cells commercially viable

Hongyuan Fu, Jia Yao, Ming Zhang, Lingwei Xue, Qiuju Zhou, Shangyu Li, Ming Lei, Lei Meng, Zhi-Guo Zhang () and Yongfang Li
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Hongyuan Fu: Beijing University of Chemical Technology
Jia Yao: Beijing University of Chemical Technology
Ming Zhang: Beijing University of Chemical Technology
Lingwei Xue: Beijing University of Chemical Technology
Qiuju Zhou: Xinyang Normal University
Shangyu Li: Beijing University of Chemical Technology
Ming Lei: Beijing University of Chemical Technology
Lei Meng: CAS Key Laboratory of Organic Solids, Institute of Chemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences
Zhi-Guo Zhang: Beijing University of Chemical Technology
Yongfang Li: CAS Key Laboratory of Organic Solids, Institute of Chemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences

Nature Communications, 2022, vol. 13, issue 1, 1-9

Abstract: Abstract The acceptor-donor-acceptor (A–D–A) or A–DA’D–A structured small molecule acceptors (SMAs) have triggered substantial progress for polymer solar cells (PSCs). However, the high−cost of the SMAs impedes the commercial viability of such renewable energy, as their synthesis via the classical pyridine-catalyzed Knoevenagel condensation usually suffers from low reaction efficiency and tedious purifying work-up. Herein, we developed a simple and cheap boron trifluoride etherate-catalyzed Knoevenagel condensation for addressing this challenge, and found that the coupling of the aldehyde-terminated D unit and the A-end groups could be quantitatively finished in the presence of acetic anhydride within 15 minutes at room temperature. Compared with the conventional method, the high reaction efficiency of our method is related to the germinal diacetate pathway that is thermodynamically favorable to give the final products. For those high performing SMAs (such as ITIC-4F and Y6), the cost could be reduced by 50% compared with conventional preparation. In addition to the application in PSCs, our synthetic approach provides a facile and low-cost access to a wide range of D–A organic semiconductors for emerging technologies.

Date: 2022
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DOI: 10.1038/s41467-022-31389-y

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