PhD Thesis

The focus of my doctoral research was to investigate the potential of pi-conjugated polymers as a material for organic solar cell (OSC) devices. pi-conjugated polymers, have unique electronic and optical properties that make them suitable for use in electronic devices. My research aimed was the synthesis and characterization of these polymers and their application in OSCs.

In my research, I synthesized various pi-conjugated semiconducting polymers, Poly(dialkoxybenzo[1,2‐b:4,5‐b′]dithiophene-alt-bischalcogenophenes), Poly(3,6-bis(2-thienyl)diketopyrrolopyrrole-selenophene), Poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene) and their derivatives using different chemical methods, such as transition metal catalyzed coupling reaction (Suzuki, Stille and Kumada cross couplings etc.) oxidative polymerization, Direct Heteroarylation polymerization (DHAP) and electrochemical assisted polymerization. The polymers were characterized using various techniques such as UV-vis spectroscopy, cyclic voltammetry, and spectro-electrochemistry. The results showed that the polymers exhibited good electrical conductivity and optical properties, making them suitable for use in OSC devices.

In addition to the synthesis and characterization of pi-conjugated semiconducting polymers, I also focused on the fabrication of OSC devices using the synthesized polymers as active layers. The devices were fabricated using a solution-processed technique, in which the polymer and other materials were dissolved in a suitable solvent and then coated onto a substrate. The devices were evaluated using various techniques, such as current-voltage (I-V) measurements, spectral response measurements, and quantum efficiency measurements. The results showed that the devices fabricated using the synthesized polymers exhibited good performance, with high power conversion efficiencies and good stability.

Overall, my research showed that semiconducting polymers have great potential as materials for OSC devices. The synthesized polymers exhibited good electrical conductivity and optical properties, and the devices fabricated using them, exhibited good performance. This research opens up new avenue for the future development of more efficient and stable optoelectronic photovoltaic and biosensor devices using multiresponsive semiconducting polymers. My doctoral research not only resulted in several publications in peer-reviewed journals (Synthetic Metals, Macromolecular Chemistry and Physics, Electrochemica Acta, Macromolecules and ACS Omega etc.) but also provided a strong foundation for my current and future research in the field of energy conversion, energy storage, organic electronics, photocatalysis and bioelectronics etc.