Synthesis and Structure-Property Relationships of Phosphole-Based π Systems and Their Applications in Organic Solar Cells.

Phosphole is a chemically tunable heterole, and its π-conjugated derivatives are potential candidates for optoelectronic materials. This account describes recent developments in the synthesis and structure-property relationships of π-conjugated phosphole derivatives made by my research group. Thiophene-phosphole-styrene, phosphole-acetylene-arene, oligophosphole, polyphosphole, areno[c]phosphole, and phosphole-heterole π systems are synthesized using titanacycle-mediated metathesis and palladium-catalyzed cross-coupling reactions. The structural, optical, and electrochemical properties of selected compounds are discussed. Initial results on some applications of thiophene-phosphole copolymers, acenaphtho[c]phospholes, and amine-terthiophene-phosphole donor-π-acceptor dyes in organic solar cells are described. These results give valuable information and guidelines for designing new phosphorus-containing organic materials for molecular electronics.