Schematic illustration of the electron transfer mechanism taking place in the fabricated DSSC with PEO/DPP-H/PC/TPAI/KI/I2 gel electrolyte.

We report the synthesis and characterization of three 3,4‐ethylene dioxythiophene (EDOT) based terpolymers. The polymers were synthesized in excellent yield via direct C−H arylation reaction between EDOT, 9,9‐di‐(2’‐ethylhexyl)‐2,7‐dibromofluorene and 1,3‐dibromo‐7‐tert‐butylpyrene. The solubility of these terpolymers in common organic solvents has been facilitated by the presence of alkyl side chains. The synthesized polymers have been characterized through gel permeation chromatography, 1H‐Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (1H‐NMR), Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FT‐IR), Ultraviolet‐visible spectroscopy (UV‐Vis), and fluorescence spectroscopy. The polymers show optical band gaps in the range of 2.06 ‐ 2.17 eV and HOMO levels of −4.71 eV to −4.70 eV relative to vacuum as determined by UV visible and Cyclic Voltammetry respectively. Dye‐sensitized solar cells (DSSC) using selected terpolymer (TP‐1) as a barrier layer have been fabricated and enhancement in photovoltaic properties was evaluated.

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