Isomers of dialkyl diketo-pyrrolo-pyrrole: Electron-deficient units for organic semiconductors

Diketo-pyrrolo-pyrrole (DPP) is an important electron-deficient unit, and the alkylation of DPP can gives rise to good solubility of organic and polymer semiconductors in solvent. In this paper, we report our observations on the isomers of dialkyl DPP. The alkylation of DPP can take place on both the nitrogen and oxygen atoms, leading to the formation of three isomers. The presence of the isomers is evidenced by the nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) and mass spectra. The yields of the isomers are affected by the experimental conditions, including the reaction temperature, reaction time and solvent. The isomers have different electronic structures and optical properties as revealed by the UV–Vis absorption spectroscopy, fluorescent spectroscopy, cyclic voltammetry and theoretical simulation using Gaussian 03 program with B3LYP/6-31G(d). Small molecules based on the DPP isomers with dialkylation at different sites were synthesized and investigated as donor materials of organic solar cells (OSCs). The photovoltaic performances of OSCs are consistent with the electronic structures of the DPP isomers.

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► Alkylation of DPP can occur on both O and N atoms.
► Three isomers of dialkyl DPP are obtained.
► Dialkyl DPP isomers have different electronic structures.
► Molecules based on dialkyl DPP isomers are used as donor materials of OSCs.
► The performances of OSCs are consistent with the electronic structure of DPP isomers.