Regioisomeric Effects of Donor–Acceptor–Acceptor′ Small-Molecule Donors on the Open Circuit Voltage of Organic Photovoltaics

Donor-acceptor-acceptor' small-molecule donors are synthesized to investigate regioisomeric effects on organic photovoltaic device performance. Cross-conjugation in 2-((7-(N-(2-ethylhexyl)-benzothieno[3,2-b]thieno[3,2-d]pyrrol-2-yl)benzo[c][1,2,5]thiadiazol-4-yl)methylene)malononitrile leads to an increased open-circuit voltage compared with its isomer 2-((7-(N-(2-ethylhexyl)-benzothieno[3,2-b]thieno[2,3-d]pyrrol-2-yl)benzo[c][1,2,5]thiadiazol-4-yl)methylene)malononitrile. A correlation is then established between molecular conjugation length and orbital energies, and hence open-circuit voltage.