Peripheral and Non-Peripheral Substituted Phthalocyanines

This invention is directed to phthalocyanine chromophores with chalcogen based substituents on the peripheral and non-peripheral positions - phthalocyanine chromophores that have alkylthio (i.e., RS-) and alkoxy (i.e. RO-) on the peripheral (2,3,9,10,16,17,23,24) and nonperipheral (1,4,8,11,15,16,22,25) positions of the macrocyclic ring.
 

Background:

The solar cells in the current invention convert sunlight in the near-IR region of the solar spectrum to electricity, and they are constructed from soluble small molecule, rather than polymer, donor materials. An Organic Photovoltaic (OPV) device efficiency can be significantly improved if the optical absorption of the active-layer is extended to the near-IR region of the solar spectrum, where most solar photons are incident, without sacrificing the VOC.
 

Applications:

• Can facilitate the formation of large area, light-weight, low-cost, and potentially flexible devices
• Can be deposited in thin-films over large areas using techniques such as reel-to-reel wet coating, ink-jet printing, and spin-coating
   

Advantages:

• The devices described herein have conversion efficiency that extends to 1 micron
• Can deposit thin-films over large areas using techniques such as reel-to-reel wet coating, ink-jet printing, and spin-coating