The effect of side chains on the performance of solar cells fabricated from poly[2-methoxy-5-(2′-ethylhexoxy)-1,4-phenylene vinylene] and C60 dicarboxylate

This paper presents the synthesis of several new C60 dicarboxylate esters. Blends with poly[2-methoxy-5-(2′-ethylhexoxy)-1,4-phenylene vinylene] were fabricated into polymer solar cells and the photovoltaic properties were tested. Effects of the substitution group attached to C60 core on the photovoltaic properties were investigated. We found that energy conversion efficiency increased at first, and then decreased with increasing size of substitution group. It also indicates that group polarity plays an important role in the performance of polymer photovoltaic devices.