Synthesis of PTQ10: A Low-Cost and Scalable Conjugated Polymer for Organic Solar Cells

Solar energy is a highly abundant, renewable, and sustainable resource. Organic solar cells (OSCs) in particular offer numerous advantages, such as ultra-low manufacturing costs, lightweight and flexible designs, and shorter energy payback times. However, current challenges, including long-term stability, complex synthesis, and efficiency loss during scaling, limit their current widespread commercialization. PTQ10, a promising conjugated polymer, has the potential to overcome these challenges due to its lower synthetic complexity and cost.

This work focused on optimizing the synthesis of PTQ10 to further improve efficiency and reduce costs. Each step of the process—nitration, reduction, quinoxaline formation, side chain addition, and polymerization—was optimized to achieve high yields with a streamlined synthesis. Specifically, the quinoxaline formation step was redesigned to reduce workup time by 98%. Overall, the modifications reduced synthetic complexity by 3.3 points (a 12% decrease) and lowered production costs by $1.13 per gram of polymer (a 7% reduction), making PTQ10 a more viable material for scalable, low-cost organic solar cells.