CoMoMi · Controlling Morphology by Microfluidics

Solar energy is one of the most promising solutions for a sustainable future. Organic photovoltaics (OPVs) are particularly promising due to their lightweight, flexible, and solution-processable nature, which allows low-cost and large-area fabrication. However, device performance is strongly dependent on the nanoscale organization of the active materials. Conventional solution-processed films often exhibit uncontrolled aggregation and morphological variability, which hinder charge transport, increase energy losses, reduce reproducibility, and lower overall efficiency.CoMoMi introduces the first systematic use of microfluidic flow chemistry to direct supramolecular self-assembly in OPVs. Microfluidics enables precise control over flow, concentration gradients, and mixing profiles at the microscale, allowing the formation of highly ordered, reproducible active-layer structures. By tuning flow parameters, including channel geometry, flow rate, and solution composition, the project will establish design rules to control molecular arrangements and guide assembly pathways.In situ characterization will monitor assembly dynamics in real time, linking molecular organization to device performance. Highly ordered microstructures are expected to enhance charge transport, reduce recombination losses, and improve power conversion efficiency, providing a reproducible pathway toward reliable OPVs. Beyond device optimization, CoMoMi will provide fundamental insights into how flow-directed assembly can control supramolecular structures, with potential implications for other solution-processed organic materials.Overall, the project establishes a reproducible, tunable strategy for directing molecular organization, bridging fundamental understanding with practical device design. By linking precise molecular assembly to enhanced efficiency, CoMoMi paves the way toward next-generation high-performance, reproducible organic solar cells.