This tutorial review covers recent contributions in the area of linear p-conjugated systems bound to fullerenes in view of their application as active materials in photovoltaic devices. The first part discusses the concepts of double-cable polymer and molecular hetero-junction and presents several examples of chemically or electrochemically synthesized C 60 -derivatized conjugated polymers. The second and main part of the article concerns the various classes of C 60 -derivatized p-conjugated

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... gomers designed in view of their utilization in single-component photovoltaic devices. Thus, C 60 -containing p-conjugated systems such as oligoarylenevinylenes, oligoaryleneethynylenes and oligothiophenes are discussed on the basis of the relationships between molecular structure, photophysical properties and performances of the derived photovoltaic devices. A brief last section presents some recent examples of surface-attached molecular hetero-junctions based on self-assembled monolayers and discusses possible routes for future research.