Graphene—a single-atom-thick sheet of carbon atoms arranged like chicken wire—was discovered in Manchester in 2004, and its electronic properties have since drawn hundreds of researchers worldwide. But its chemical, mechanical, optical, and magnetic properties remain largely unexplored. This project aims to expand graphene research beyond fundamental physics into materials science, chemistry, and engineering, creating a multidisciplinary centre at Manchester and Lancaster Universities that directly links fundamental discoveries to applications. Currently, the UK has no significant activity in these strategically important directions, while the US, Germany, Japan, and others have begun to move. Without this investment, the UK risks losing key researchers to foreign institutions. If successful, the centre could accelerate the development of novel commercial products—from stronger, lighter composites for manufacturing and transport to flexible electronics, improved water filtration membranes, and more efficient energy storage. The researchers will leverage existing facilities and expertise at the Manchester Centre for Mesoscience and Nanotechnology, where graphene was discovered, to make the investment cost-effective and produce rapid innovation output.
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Graphene is an isolated atomic plane that can be viewed as a one-atom-thick chicken wire made from carbon atoms. Discovered in Manchester in 2004, this new material has rapidly become one of the brightest stars on the horizon of materials science and condensed matter physics. In terms of fundamental science, graphene is the first truly two-dimensional material, a new kind of matter previously unknown and believed not to exist. During the few years since its discovery, research efforts have been focused on electronic properties of this material, which have proved to be so unusual and exciting that hundreds of academic and industrial scientists around the world have moved into this new research area. Whereas the interest in graphene as a qualitatively different electronic system is expected to remain strong for decades, graphene's chemical, mechanical, optical, magnetic and other properties remain a practically unexplored territory. All indications are that these properties of graphene are equally fascinating. Also, in terms of applications, graphene is proving to offer such an exceptionally wide range of possibilities that it is highly likely to generate a wide range of novel commercial products.The next, fast-approaching and inevitable stage of graphene research will be the exploitation of graphene's huge innovation potential and the expansion of the current activities dominated worldwide by fundamental physics into neighbouring disciplines including materials science, chemistry and engineering. Currently, there is no noticeable activity in any of these strategically important directions in the UK but during the last year some nascent activities have emerged in other countries including the US, Germany, Japan, France, China and Russia. Our goal is to radically change the situation. Manchester and Lancaster Universities will use their existing strength in graphene physics to underpin and facilitate the development of internationally leading graphene research in neighbouring disciplines and to form a multidisciplinary centre linking the successful fundamental research on graphene directly to its applications. Manchester Centre for Mesoscience and Nanotechnology, the place where graphene was discovered, is a natural vehicle for this expansion as researchers from different departments have already been collaborating successfully around the use of the Centre's facilities. This will make the new investment extremely cost effective and result in a rapid science and innovation output, thanks to the extensive expertise and graphene-targeted technologies already developed and in place at the Centre. Through the critical mass and feedback mechanisms combined with an increased pool of various facilities and knowledge, the envisaged multidisciplinary graphene research centre initiated and stimulated by the Award should become a formidable global force and a vital vehicle for innovation. The Science & Innovation Award will result in a long-lasting impact by creating a globally-recognized multidisciplinary centre of excellence focused on graphene research. Failure of this application will be detrimental for both Universities and the UK graphene research in general, and will likely result in the loss of key academic and research staff to foreign institutions.
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