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

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 efficienc

SUBMITTER: Fu H 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC9237043 | biostudies-literature | 2022 Jun

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature