Self-Assembling Fullerenes for Improved Bulk-Heterojunction Photovoltaic Devices

The fullerene adducts 1 a and 1b, whose molecular shapes either promote or hinder the formation of 1-D stacks, have been examined for their potential to form 1-D wire-like domains in bulk-heterojunction organic solar cells, The photovoltaic efficiency of solar cells based on blends of the stacking fullerene la with regioregular poly(3-hexylthiophene-2,5-diyl) (P3HT) is greatly enhanced compared to nonstacking model fullerene 1b.