B←N Coordination: From Chemistry to Organic Photovoltaic Materials

Abstract

Coordination between boron Lewis acid and nitrogen Lewis base (B←N) is a classically chemical issue that has been known for several decades. Recently, this B←N chemistry developed into a new stage toward electronic materials, e.g., adjusting optoelectronic properties of N‐based conjugated molecules via adding B Lewis acids, synthesizing B←N‐bridged conjugated units, and further constructing B←N‐embedded organic photovoltaic (OPV) materials. Herein, these progresses are systematically summarized starting from certain chemical issues concerning B←N coordination, e.g., Lewis acidity of typical B Lewis acids and their interactions with N‐contained conjugated molecules. Then, some fused and ladder‐type B←N‐bridged units are reviewed in terms of the relationship between molecular structures and optoelectronic properties. Finally, the recently flourished B←N‐embedded OPV materials are summarized. The prospect of OPV materials concerning B←N coordination is also proposed, hoping to attract more attention to this filed and motivate its rolling rapidly.

Keywords

• B←N bonds
• boron chemistry
• Lewis pairs
• organic solar cells
• photovoltaic materials