Effective D-A-D type chromophore of fumaronitrile-core and terminal alkylated bithiophene for solution-processed small molecule organic solar cells

A new and novel organic π-conjugated chromophore (named as RCNR) based on fumaronitrile-core acceptor and terminal alkylated bithiophene was designed, synthesized and utilized as an electron-donor material for the solution-processed fabrication of bulk-heterojunction (BHJ) small molecule organic solar cells (SMOSCs). The synthesized organic chromophore exhibited a broad absorption peak near green region and strong emission peak due to the presence of strong electron-withdrawing nature of two nitrile (–CN) groups of fumaronitrile acceptor. The highest occupied molecular orbital (HOMO) energy level of –5.82 eV and the lowest unoccupied molecular orbital (LUMO) energy level of –3.54 eV were estimated for RCNR due to the strong electron-accepting tendency of –CN groups. The fabricated SMOSC devices with RCNR:PC(60)BM (1:3, w/w) active layer exhibited the reasonable power conversion efficiency (PCE) of ~2.69% with high short-circuit current density (J(SC)) of ~9.68 mA/cm(2) and open circuit voltage (V(OC)) of ~0.79 V.