Wide Band-Gap 3,4-Difluorothiophene-Based Polymer with 7% Solar Cell Efficiency: An Alternative to P3HT

We report on a wide band-gap polymer donor composed of benzo[1,2-b:4,5-b']dithiophene (BDT) and 3,4-difluorothiophene ([2F]T) units (Eopt ~2.1 eV), and show that the fluorinated analog PBDT[2F]T performs significantly better than its non-fluorinated counterpart PBDT[2H]T in BHJ solar cells with PC71BM. While control P3HT- and PBDT[2H]T-based devices yield PCEs of ca. 4% and 3% (Max.) respectively, PBDT[2F]T-based devices reach PCEs of ca. 7%, combining a large Voc of ca. 0.9 V and short-circuit current values (ca. 10.7 mA/cm2) comparable to those of the best P3HT-based control devices.