Phenyl-C61-butyric acid methyl ester
PCBM is a fullerene derivative being investigated for its potential use in organic solar cells.
PCBM is a fullerene derivative of the C60 buckyball that was first synthesized in the 1990s. It is an electron acceptor material and is often used in organic [solar cell]s or flexible electronics in conjunction with electron donor materials such as P3HT or other conductive polymers. It is a more practical choice for an electron acceptor when compared with fullerenes because of its solubility in chlorobenzene. This allows for solution processable donor/acceptor mixes, a necessary property for "printable" solar cells. However, considering the cost of fabricating fullerenes, it is not certain that this derivative can be synthesized on a large scale for commercial applications.