Photophysical Properties of BODIPY-derivatives for the Implementation of Organic Solar Cells: A Computational Approach

Abstract: Solar cells based on organic compounds are a proven emergent alternative to conventional electrical energy generation. Here, we provide a computational study of power conversion efficiency optimization of BODIPY-derivatives by means of their associated open circuit voltage, short-circuit density, and fill factor. In so doing, we compute for the derivatives' geometrical structures, energy levels of frontier molecular orbitals, absorption spectra, light collection efficiencies, and exciton binding energies, via density functional theory (DFT) and time dependent (TD)--DFT calculations. We fully-characterize four D--$\pi$--A (BODIPY) molecular systems of high efficiency and improved $J_{sc}$ that are well suited for integration into bulk heterojunction (BHJ) organic solar cells as electron-donor materials in the active layer. Our results are two-fold: We found that molecular complexes with an structural isoxazoline ring exhibit a higher power conversion efficiency (PCE), a useful result for improving the BHJ current, and, on the other hand, by considering the molecular systems as electron-acceptor materials, with P3HT as the electron-donor in the active layer, we found a high PCE compound favorability with a pyrrolidine ring in its structure, in contrast to the molecular systems built with an isoxazoline ring. The theoretical characterization of the electronic properties of the BODIPY-derivatives here provided, computed with a combination of ab-initio methods and quantum models, can be readily applied to other sets of molecular complexes in order to hierarchize optimal power conversion efficiency.