Preparation and characterization of methanofullerenes for polymer–fullerene bulk heterojunction solar cells

A series of alkyl 4-benzoylbutyrate p-tosylhydrazones were synthesized and reacted with C60 in the presence of sodium methoxide. Interestingly, n-butyl 4-benzoylbutyrate p-tosylhydrazone causes a high yield of the undesired compound-[6,6]-phenyl C61-butyric acid methyl ester (PCBM). Photovoltaic cells with these derivatives as electron acceptors were fabricated. The surface morphology of poly(3-hexylthiophene)(P3HT)/C60 derivatives was characterized by atomic force microscopy. The nano-scale phase separation was observed in P3HT/PCBM film through a slow-growth process. This phenomenon is indistinguishable in P3HT/PCBiB ([6,6]-phenyl C61-butyric acid iso-butyl ester) film because of the higher solubility of PCBiB in P3HT. The power conversion efficiency of the device that was made of P3HT/PCBiB blend is 2.8%, which is lower than that of P3HT/PCBM-based device (4.0%).