Synthesis and optical and electrochemical properties of 5,6-bis[9-(2-decyltetradecyl)-9H-carbazol-3-yl]naphtho[2,1-b:3,4-b’]dithiophene as a promising building block for photovoltaic applications

Abstract

A new carbazole-containing naphthodithiophene heteroaromatic compound, 5,6-bis[9-(2-decyltetradecyl)-9H-carbazol-3-yl]naphtho[2,1-b:3,4-b’]dithiophene (M1), was synthesized to be subsequently used as the weak donor structure for the construction of narrow bandgap D–A conjugated polymers in terms of the “weak donor–strong acceptor” concept. The composition and structure of M1 were confirmed by the data of elemental analysis and IR and ¹H and ¹³C NMR spectroscopy. The optical and electrochemical characteristics of the product were measured. The compound M1 was shown to have low-lying HOMO (–5.57 eV), which is favorable for high open-circuit voltage and to be suitable as a promising weak donor moiety in the D–A conjugated polymer for photovoltaic applications.