Synthesis and Characterization of Thiophene-Based Copolymers Containing Urethane and Alkyl Functional Side Chains for Hybrid Bulk Heterojunction Photovoltaic Cell Applications

The following noble series of statistical copolymers, poly[(2-(3-thienyl)ethanol n-butoxycarbonylmethylurethane)-co-3-hexylthiophene] (PURET-co-P3HT), were synthesized by the chemical dehydrogenation method using anhydrous $FeCl_3$. The structure and electro-optical properties of these copolymers were characterized using $^1H$-NMR, UV-visible spectroscopy, elemental analysis, GPC, DSC, TGA, photoluminescence (PL), and cyclic voltammetry (CV). The statistical copolymers, PURET-co-P3HT (1:0, 2:1, 1:1, 1:2, 1:3), were soluble in common organic solvents and easily spin coated onto indium-tin oxide (ITO) coated glass substrates. Hybrid bulk heterojunction photovoltaic cells with an ITO/G-PEDOT/PURET-co-P3HT:PCBM:Ag nanowires/$TiO_x$/Al configuration were fabricated, and the photovoltaic cells using PURET-co-P3HT (1:2) showed the best photovoltaic performance compared with those using PURET-co-P3HT (1:0, 2:1, 1:1, 1:3). The optimal hybrid bulk heterojunction photovoltaic cell exhibits a power conversion efficiency (PCE) of 1.58% ($V_{oc}$ = 0.82 V, $J_{sc}$ = 5.58, FF = 0.35) with PURET-co-P3HT (1:2) measured by using an AM 1.5 G irradiation (100 mW/$cm^2$) on an Oriel Xenon solar simulator (Oriel 300 W).