Conjugated Antracene Derivatives as Donor Materials for Bulk Heterojunction Solar Cells: Olefinic versus Acetylenic spacers.

Soluble anthracene-core donor molecules containing olefinic or acetylenic spacers were synthesized in good yields and characterized in terms of electronic structure and film-forming properties. Bulk heterojunction (BHJ) solar cells based on the acetylenic donors are found to be significantly more efficient than those based on the olefinic donors, thus underscoring the potential of acetylenic pi-donors in organic photovoltaics. The power conversion efficiencies of the devices based on the investigated acetylenic donors rival or exceed those of the most efficient small-molecule BHJs reported at a time