Browsing by Author "Liang, Wei-Wei"

Now showing 1 - 11 of 11

A New Ladder-Type Germanium-Bridged Dithienocarbazole Arene and Its Donor-Acceptor Conjugated Copolymers: Synthesis, Molecular Properties, and photovoltaic Applications
(2014-11-11)
Jwo, Pei-Chi
;
Lai, Yu-Ying
;
Tsai, Che-En
;
Lai, Yun-Yu
;
Liang, Wei-Wei
We have developed a new germanium-bridged heptacyclic arene, dithienogermolocarbazole (DTGC), in which two outer thiophene subunits are covalently fastened to the central 2,7-carbazole core by two dibutylgermanium bridges. The germole moieties embedded in the DTGC structure were successfully constructed by one-pot nucleophilic cyclization in a high yield of 88%. Because of the relatively lower polarity of carbongermanium bonds, the DTGC unit is chemically stable under basic conditions, rendering its more versatile functionalization. Comparison of germanium-bridged DTGC with the carbon-bridged DTCC (dithienocyclopentacarbazole) and silicon-bridged DTSC (dithienosilolocarbazole) analogues reveals that the HOMO energy level of DTGC lies between those of DTCC and DTSC and so does the LUMO energy level of DTGC. Density functional theory (DFT) calculations suggest that DTSC and DTGC have more bent structures than DTCC, which plays an important role in determining their frontier orbital energies. The structural disparity could be amplified in their corresponding polymers. The DTGC unit was copolymerized with four different comonomers, including benzothiadiazole (BT), dithienylbenzothiadiazole (DTBT), difluorobenzothiadiazole (FBT), and dithienyldifluorobenzothiadiazole (DTFBT) to yield a series of new alternating donoracceptor copolymers, poly(dithienogermolo-carbazole-alt-benzothiadiazole) (PDTGCBT), poly(dithienogermolocarbazole-alt-dithienylbenzothiadiazole) (PDTGCDTBT), poly(dithienogermolocarbazole-alt-difluorobenzothiadiazole) (PDTGCFBT), and poly(dithienogermolocarbazole-alt-dithienyldifluorobenzothiadiazole) (PDTGCDTFBT). Because of the two additional thiophene rings in the repeating units on the backbone to facilitate pi-electron delocalization, PDTGCFDTBT showed a lower optical band gap than PDTGCFBT. Furthermore, PDTGCDTFBT also showed the lower-lying LUMO and HOMO energy levels than PDTGCDTBT as a result of the electron-withdrawing fluorine atoms. Consequently, the bulk heterojunction solar cell incorporating PDTGCDTFBT delivered the highest performance with V-oc of 0.84 V, Jsc of 9.87 mA/cm(2), FF of 48.8%, and PCE of 4.05%. By adding 3 vol % 1-chloronaphthalene to tailor the morphology, the solar cell using PDTGCDTFBT with higher molecular weight exhibited the improved efficiency of 4.50% with a V-oc of 0.84 V, a J(sc) of 11.19 mA/cm(2), and an FF of 47.7%.
A New Pentacyclic Indacenodiselenophene Arene and Its Donor-Acceptor Copolymers for Solution-Processable Polymer Solar Cells and Transistors: Synthesis, Characterization, and Investigation of Alkyl/Alkoxy Side-Chain Effect
(2013-10-08)
Chang, Huan-Hsuan
;
Tsai, Che-En
;
Lai, Yu-Ying
;
Liang, Wei-Wei
;
Hsu, So-Lin
A pentacyclic indacenodiselenophene (IDS) arene was synthesized via intramolecular Friedel-Craft cyclization of the selenophene moieties. This IDS framework was used as a model system to investigate the alkyl/alkoxy side-chain effect by preparing IDS-OCH8 and IDS-C-6, where the side chains on the sp(3) carbon in the cyclopentadienyl ring are 4-octyloxyphenyl groups and 4-hexylphenyl groups, respectively. The SnIDS-OCH8 and Sn-IDS-C-6 monomers were copolymerized with 4,7dibromo-2,1,3-benzothiadiazole (BT), 4,7-diiodo-5,6-difluoro-2,1,3-benzothiadiazole (FBT) and 1,3-dibromothieno[3,4-dpyrrole-4,6-dione (TPD) acceptor monomers by Stil le polycondensation to afford five new IDS-based donor acceptor alternating copolymers, PIDSBT-OCH8, PIDSBTC6) PIDSFBT-OCH8, PIDSFBT-C-6, and PIDSTPD-C-6. Despite the fact that the octyloxy and hexyl side chains play a negligible role in the optical and electrochemical properties of the resulting polymers, the solar cell performance is highly associated with the side chains of the polymers. Under similar device fabrication conditions, the PIDSBT-C-6 and PIDSFBT-C-6-based devices showed much improved efficiencies than the corresponding PIDSBT-OCH8, and PIDSFBT-OCH8-based devices (2.6% and 1.9% vs 3.8% and 3.9%). The improvement is mainly the result of much enhanced J(sc) values. Consistently, PIDSBT-C-6 and PIDSFBT-C-6 exhibited much higher FET hole mobilites than the corresponding PIDSBT-OCH8, and PIDSFBT-OCH8. These results clearly revealed that the 4-hexylphenyl group is a more suitable side chain than the 4-octyloxyphenyl group in the IDS system, and the side-chain dependent mobility of the polymers is the dominating factor to determine the photocurrents and efficiencies of PSCs. PIDSBT-C-6 exhibited a high hole mobility of 0.08 cm(2) V-1 s(-1) and PIDSTPD-C-6:PC71BM (1:4 in wt %)-based solar cell with 5 v% chloronaphthalene (CN) delivered a V-oc of 0.92 V, a J(sc) of 9.77 mA/cm(2), an FF of 51%, and a highest PCE of 4.6%. This work not only discloses a new selenophene-containing ladder-type IDS structure and its copolymers but also provides useful insights into the allcyl/alkoxy side-chain effect for future design of conjugated polymers.
Angular-Shaped 4,10-Dialkylanthradiselenophene and Its Donor-Acceptor Conjugated Polymers: Synthesis, Physical, Transistor, and Photovoltaic Properties
(2015-10-13)
Lai, Yu-Ying
;
Chang, Huan-Hsuan
;
Lai, Yun-Yu
;
Liang, Wei-Wei
;
Tsai, Che-En
An angular-shaped and isomerically pure 4,10-di(2-octyl)dodecylanthradiselenophene (aADS) was successfully developed. The expedient synthesis to form the framework of aADS with two lateral side chains regioseleclively at its 4,10-positions is via a base-induced propargyl-allenyl isomerization/6 pi-electrocyclization/aromatization protocol. This pentacyclic distannylated aADS unit was then copolymerized with dithienyldiketopyrrolopyrrole (DPP) and dithienyl-5,6-difluoro-2,1,3-benzothiadiazole (DTFBT) acceptors with different alkyl side chains to afford four donor-acceptor copolymers: PaADSDPP, PaADSDTFBT-C-4, PaADSDTFBT-C-8, and PaADSDTFBT-C8C12. UV-vis spectroscopy and cyclic voltammetry revealed that PaADSDPP has the narrowest energy band gap, and PaADSDTFBT-C8C12 has larger band gap than PaADSDTFBT-C-4 and PaADSDTFBT-C-8. Two layer ONIOM (our own n-layered integrated molecular orbital and molecular mechanics) calculations were implemented to investigate the disparity in optical, electrochemical, and device properties between these polymers. Both experimental and theoretical data suggest that the aliphatic side chains play a significant role in determining the physical, transistor, and photovoltaic properties of the polymers. PaADSDTFBT-C-4 and PaADSDTFBT-C-8 exhibited organic-field-effect-transistor hole mobilities of 2.7 x 10(-2) and 1.0 x 10(-2) cm(2) V-1 s(-1), greatly outperforming that of PaADSDTFBT-C8C12 with a mobility of 5.4 X 10(-6) cm(2) V-1 s(-1). Polymer solar cells were fabricated on the basis of ITO/PEDOT:PSS/polymer:PC71BM/Ca/Al configuration. The efficiency decreased as the increase of bulkiness of the aliphatic side chains installed on DTFBT units (4.4% for PaADSDTFBT-C-4, 3.5% for PaADSDTFBT-C-8, 0.3% for PaADSDTFBT-C8C12). Atomic force microscopy images reveal that the degree of aggregation for the polymer:fullerene blends is influenced significantly by the bulkiness of aliphatic side chain installed on DTFBT. Noticeable aggregation was found for the PaADSDTFBT-C8C12:PC71BM blend. These results are in good agreement with the computational results elucidating that the intermolecular interactions between the polymers and PC71BM are sterically hindered by the bulky 2-octyldodecyl groups. This work not only presents a promising selenophene-based aADS building block but also provides insights into the side-chain engineering for donor-acceptor conjugated copolymers.
Angular-Shaped 4,9-Dialkyl - and -Naphthodithiophene-Based Donor-Acceptor Copolymers: Investigation of Isomeric Structural Effects on Molecular Properties and Performance of Field-Effect Transistors and Photovoltaics
(2015-10-14)
Cheng, Sheng-Wen
;
Chiou, De-Yang
;
Tsai, Che-En
;
Liang, Wei-Wei
;
Lai, Yu-Ying
Two angular-shaped 4,9-didodecyl -aNDT and 4,9-didodecyl -aNDT isomeric structures have been regiospecifically designed and synthesized. The distannylated -aNDT and -aNDT monomers are copolymerized with the Br-DTNT monomer by the Stille coupling to furnish two isomeric copolymers, PNDTDTNT and PNDTDTNT, respectively. The geometric shape and coplanarity of the isomeric -aNDT and -aNDT segments in the polymers play a decisive role in determining their macroscopic device performance. Theoretical calculations show that PNDTDTNT possesses more linear polymeric backbone and higher coplanarity than PNDTDTNT. The less curved conjugated main chain facilitates stronger intermolecular - interactions, resulting in more redshifted absorption spectra of PNDTDTNT in both solution and thin film compared to the PNDTDTNT counterpart. 2D wide-angle X-ray diffraction analysis reveals that PNDTDTNT has more ordered -stacking and lamellar stacking than PNDTDTNT as a result of the lesser curvature of the PNDTDTNT backbone. Consistently, PNDTDTNT exhibits a greater field effect transistor hole mobility of 0.214 cm(2) V-1 s(-1) than PNDTDTNT with a mobility of 0.038 cm(2) V-1 s(-1). More significantly, the solar cell device incorporating the PNDTDTNT:PC71BM blend delivers a superior power conversion efficiency (PCE) of 8.01% that outperforms the PNDTDTNT:PC71BM-based device with a moderate PCE of 3.6%.
Angular-Shaped 4,9-Dialkylnaphthodithiophene-Based Donor-Acceptor Copolymers for Efficient Polymer Solar Cells and High-Mobility Field-Effect Transistors
(2015-04-14)
Cheng, Sheng-Wen
;
Tsai, Che-En
;
Liang, Wei-Wei
;
Chen, Yung-Lung
;
Cao, Fong-Yi
Although the tetracyclic angular-shaped naphthodithiophenes (aNDTs) derivatives are an emergent building block for constructing promising semiconductor conjugated polymers, the absence of aliphatic side chains as solubilizing groups on the aNDTs greatly restricted their further application toward polymer synthesis. To create a new class of aNDT-based polymers for widespread applications in solution-processable OFETs and PSCs, side-chain engineering of the aNDT-based structures plays a pivotal role in improving solubility and optimizing electronic/steric properties associated with the resultant solar cell characteristics. In this research, we developed an efficient and straightforward methodology to construct the angular naphthodithophene core with regiospecific introduction of two aliphatic chains at its 4,9-positions via a base-induced double 6p-cyclization. For the first time, the corresponding 2,7-distannylated-4,9-dialkylated aNDT monomers were polymerized with FBT and DPP acceptors to make two new PaNDTDTFBT and PaNDTDPP donor-acceptor copolymers. The photovoltaic devices based on the PaNDTDTFBT:PC71BM blend not only showed a promising PCE of 6.52% with conventional configuration but also achieved a higher PCE of 6.86% with inverted configuration. Moreover, PaNDTDPP with strong intermolecular interaction achieved a high FET hole mobility of 0.202 cm(2) V-1 s(-1).
Flat-on ambipolar triphenylamine/C-60 nano-stacks formed from the self-organization of a pyramid-sphere-shaped amphiphile
(2016-01-01)
Liang, Wei-Wei
;
Huang, Chi-Feng
;
Wu, Kuan-Yi
;
Wu, San-Lien
;
Chang, Shu-Ting
A giant amphiphile, which is constructed with an amorphous nano-pyramid (triphenylamine, TPA) and a crystalline nano-sphere (C-60), was synthesized. Structural characterization indicates that this pyramid-sphere-shaped amphiphile (TPA-C-60) forms a solvent-induced ordered phase, in which the two constituent units self-assemble into alternating stacks of two-dimensional (2D) TPA and C-60 nanosheets. Due to the complexity of the molecular structure and the amorphous nature of the nano-pyramid, phase formation was driven by intermolecular C-60-C-60 interactions and the ordered phase could not be reformed from the TPA-C-60 melt. Oriented crystal arrays of TPA-C-60, which contain flaton TPA/C-60 nano-stacks, can be obtained via a PDMS-assisted crystallization (PAC) technique. The flaton dual-channel supramolecular structure of TPA-C-60 delivered ambipolar and balanced charge-transport characteristics with an average me of 2.11 x 10(-4) cm(2) V-1 s(-1) and mh of 3.37 x 10(-4) cm(2) V-1 s(-1). The anisotropic charge-transport ability of the pyramid-sphere-shaped amphiphile was further understood based on the lattice structure and the lattice orientation of TPA-C-60 revealed from electron diffraction analyses.
Formation of Nanostructured Fullerene Interlayer through Accelerated Self-Assembly and Cross-Linking of Trichlorosilane Moieties Leading to Enhanced Efficiency of Photovoltaic Cells
(2013-06-25)
Liang, Wei-Wei
;
Chang, Chih-Yu
;
Lai, Yu-Ying
;
Cheng, Sheng-Wen
;
Chang, Huan-Hsuan
A new cross-linkable fullerene material, bis(2-(trichlorosilyl)propyl)-malonate C-60 (TSMC), functionalized with two trichlorosilane groups, was easily synthesized by Pt-catalyzed olefin hydrosilylation. By making use of facile hydrolysis of the trichlorosilyl moieties, TSMC can be spontaneously self-assembled and cross-linked on the TiOx surface by a simple spin-coating processing without the aid of photoirradiation or post-thermal treatments. The rapid formation of self-assembled and crosslinked TSMC (SA-C-TSMC) effectively passivates the residual hydroxyl groups on the TiOx surface. More significantly, the solvent-resistant TSMC network features a nanostructured surface to provide extra charge-generating interfacial area and straight electron transport pathways. The device (ITO/TiOx/SA-C-TSMC/P3HT:PC61BM (1:1, w/w)/PEDOT:PSS/Ag) with this C-60 interlayer exhibited an efficiency of 3.9% which greatly outperformed the device without this layer. Furthermore, the strategy can also be effectively applied to the device (ITO/TiOx/PDITTDTBT:PC71BM(1:4, w/w)/MoOx/Ag) incorporating a conjugated polymer, poly(diindenothiophene-alt-dithienylbenzothiadizole) copolymer (PDITTDTBT). This device delivered a high efficiency of 5.8% which represents a 35% enhancement over the device without SA-C-TSMC. This new generation of trichlorosilane-based fullerene offers an easy and accelerated processing technique to produce efficient and cost-effective inverted solar cells.
Reducing Regioisomers of Fullerene-Bisadducts by Tether-Directed Remote Functionalization: Investigation of Electronically and Sterically Isomeric Effects on Bulk-Heterojunction Solar Cells
(2014-01-22)
Liao, Ming-Hung
;
Lai, Yin-Yu
;
Lai, Yu-Ying
;
Chen, Yen-Ting
;
Tsai, Che-En
C-60 bis-adduct containing a mixture of regio-isomers with different LUMO energy levels and steric geometries could greatly affect the morphological and bulk properties. To investigate the regio-isomer effect on solar cell performance, we have successfully designed and synthesized a regio-selective 4-acetatephenyl-4'-methylphenylmethano C-60 bis-adduct (S-APM-CBA) by "tether-directed remote functionalization" strategy and a random 4-acetatephenyl-4'-methylphenylmethano C-60 bis-adduct denoted as R-APM-CBA by traditional cyclopropanation. The dramatic reduction in the number of regio-isomers in S-APM-CBA is confirmed by the H-1 NMR and HPLC measurements and theoretical calculation. Compared to the R-APM-CBA-based device with a J(sc) of 6.63 mA/cm(2), an FF of 44.3% and a PCE of 2.46%, the device using S-APM-CBA yielded a much lower J(sc) of 1.48 mA/cm(2), an FF of 32.2%, and a PCE of 0.38%. Consistently, the electron-only device using S-AMP-CBA exhibited lower electron mobility than the R-AMP-CBA-based device. These results imply that the electronic shallow-trap effect ascribed to the LUMO energy variations turned out to be insignificant in the AMP-CBA system. The lower efficiency and mobility of S-AMP-CBA might due to the assumption that the most probable trans-4-III isomer in S-AMP-CBA prevents the intermolecular facial contact of fullerenes, thereby hindering the electron transporting. Furthermore, the nanomorphology of S-AMP-CBA and R-AMP-CBA active layers could be different because of their different three-dimensional structures. This research demonstrated that steric effect of regio-isomers in a given C-60 bis-adduct is more crucial than electronic shallow-trap effect.
Synthesis of Poly(3-hexylthiophene), Poly(3-hexylselenophene), and Poly(3-hexylselenophene-alt-3-hexylthiophene) by Direct C-H Arylation Polymerization via N-Heterocyclic Carbene Palladium Catalysts
(2015-05-12)
Lai, Yu-Ying
;
Tung, Tsu-Chien
;
Liang, Wei-Wei
;
Cheng, Yen-Ju
;
應用化學系
Direct C-H arylation polymerization of 2-bromo-3-1-hexylselenophene and 2-bromo-3-hexylthiophene catalyzed by N-heterocyclic carbene (NHC) palladium-based and Pd(OAc)(2)-based, systems has been carried out and investigated. Under the optimized conditions, high molecular weight poly(3-hexylthiohphene) (P3HT), (M-n=26.9K g/mol) with high head-to-tail regioregularity (94%) can he obtained by using [1,3-bis(2,6-diisopropylphenyl)imidazol-2-ylidene]chloro[3-phenylallyl]-palladium(II) (Pd-IPr) 8 the catalyst. Pd-IPr exhibits a wide range of working temperatures froth 70 to 140 degrees C and good catalytic reproducibility as a result of its high thermal stability. It was found that the presence of additional phosphine ligand, such as tris(o-methoxyphenyl)phosphine,, can increase the polymerization efficiency in the Pd(OAc)2 system. This improvement is linked to the stability enhancement for the active species during the course of catalysis. For the first time, poly(3-hexylselenophene) (P3HS) was also obtained by direct-arylation polymerization in this research. The modest molecular weight is attributed to the poor solubility P3HS in the used solvents. Density-functional-theory (DFT) calculations were performed to investigate the postulated reaction mechanisms for our catalytic systems. The,experimental observations can thus be elucidated by the help of computation: Most significantly, a main-chain alternating and side-chain regioregular (RR = 94%) poly(3-hexylselenophene-alt-3-hexylthiophene) (Alt-P3HST) with high molecular weight (20.0K g/mol) was successfully synthesized via the Pd-IPr-catalyzed direct-arylation polymerization of a well-designed 2-bromo-8-hexyl-5-(3-hexylseleophen-2-yl)thiophene monomer. The molecular properties of the Alt-P3HST were characterized to compare with those of P3HT and P3HS. This research demonstrates in-depth investigation on the NHC-based palladium catalysts for the synthesis of Conjugated polymers via direct C-H bond polymerization.
Synthesis of side-chain regioregular and main-chain alternating poly(bichalcogenophene)s and an ABC-type periodic poly(terchalcogenophene)
(2020-04-21)
Liu, Huai-Hsuan
;
Liang, Wei-Wei
;
Lai, Yu-Ying
;
Su, Yen-Chen
;
Yang, Hau-Ren
Three unsymmetrical diiodobichalcogenophenes SSeI2, STeI2, and SeTeI2 and a diiodoterchalcogenophene SSeTeI2 were prepared. Grignard metathesis of SSeI2, STeI2, SeTeI2, and SSeTeI2 occurred regioselectively at the lighter chalcogenophene site because of its relatively lower electron density and less steric bulk. Nickel-catalyzed Kumada catalyst-transfer polycondensation of these Mg species provided a new class of side-chain regioregular and main-chain AB-type alternating poly(bichalcogenophene)s-PSSe, PSTe, and PSeTe-through a chain-growth mechanism. The ring-walking of the Ni catalyst from the lighter to the heavier chalcogenophene facilitated subsequent oxidative addition, thereby suppressing the possibility of chain-transfer or chain-termination. More significantly, the Ni catalyst could walk over the distance of three rings (ca. 1 nm)-from a thiophene unit via a selenophene unit to a tellurophene unit-to form PSSeTe, the first ABC-type regioregular and periodic poly(terchalcogenophene) comprising three different types of 3-hexylchalcogenophenes.
Synthesis, characterization, and photovoltaic applications of donor-acceptor alternating and random copolymers based on a ladder-type nonacyclic structure
(2016-11)
Liang, Wei-Wei
;
Lin, Yu-Shun
;
Lai, Yu-Ying
;
Cheng, Yen-Ju
;
應用化學系
A nonacylic building block TPTPT with the alternate thiophene and benzene subunits fastened by four bridging methylene groups was connected with various acceptors including diphenylquinoxaline (QX), thieno[3,4-c]pyrrole-4,6(5H)-dione (TPD), thieno[3,44]thiophene (TT) to afford donor-acceptor (D-A) alternating copolymers - PTPTPTQX, PTPTPTTPD, and PTPTPTTT and random copolymers - PTPTPTQX11,PTPTPTQX12, PTPTPTTPD11, PTPTPTTPD12, PTPTPTTT11, and PTPTPTTT12. The thermal, optical, and electrochemical properties of these copolymers were measured and compared. The random copolymers all have higher glass transition temperature (T-g) than the corresponding alternating copolymers. ONIOM (our own n-layered integrated molecular orbital and molecular mechanics) calculations suggest that the increase of planarity in the random copolymers arises from the introduction of thiophene units intercalating between donor and acceptor moieties. Bulk heterojunction (BHJ) polymer solar cells (PSCs) were fabricated on the basis of ITO/PEDOT:PSS/polymer:PC71BM/Ca/Al device configuration. When the acceptor is QX or TPD, the resultant alternating copolymers performed superior than the random counterparts. When the acceptor is TT, the high content of TT seems to be harmful to the device efficiency, which may relate with the strong quinoidal character of the TT unit. Overall, for the win core structure, in the used acceptors, the alternating-copolymer arrangement appears to be a better construction manner for the purpose of BHJ PSC applications. (C) 2016 Published by Elsevier B.V.