Benzyl viologen dichloride (BVD, CAS number: 1102-19-8) is a bipyridinium dichloride salt with two chlorine anions and positively charged 1,1′-dibenzyl-4,4′-bipyridinium bearing two nitrogen cations. As an electrochromic indicator, benzyl viologen dichloride can go through two-step reduction process to benzyl viologen radical cation (BV+·) and then benzyl viologen neutral (BV0), marked by the distinctive colour changes from colourless to violet purple, and then yellow respectively.

Benzyl viologen dichloride, together with its both reduced forms of benzyl viologen radical cation (BV+·) and benzyl viologen neutral (BV0), have been used as n-type dopant to promote charge transfer for their strong electron donating properties originated from the viologen unit. Benzyl viologen radical cation (BV+·) doped PNDI(2OD)2T films gained electrical conductivity as high as 1.34 × 10-2 S cm-1 with minimum contact resistance and less than 30% degradation at both 100 °C for 24 h and room temperature for two weeks in a glovebox.

Inverted polymer solar cells based on PTB7-Th:PC71BM as photoactive layer and BVD doped zinc oxide (ZnO) electron transport layer (ETL) showed 16.52% improvement in power conversion efficiency (PCE) while compared to the ones based on pure ZnO. Being a metal oxide inorganic material with hydrophilic properties, ZnO has a general problem of interfacial compatibility with organic active layers of hydrophobic properties at the interface. The doping of ZnO with benzyl viologen not only improves the interface compatibility but also enhances the charge extraction process at the interface.

Benzyl viologen neutral (BV0) has also been used to dope carbon nanotubes, graphene, and transition metal dichalcogenides (TMDCs) such as molybdenum disulphide (MoS2) to provide environmentally stable n-type doped semiconducting metallic materials with great charge mobility and device operation stability.

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Chemical Structure

Benzyl viologen dichloride - 1,1′-Dibenzyl-4,4′-bipyridinium dichloride chemical structure, 1102-19-8