[{"command":"openDialog","selector":"#drupal-modal","settings":null,"data":"\u003Cdiv id=\u0022republish_modal_form\u0022\u003E\u003Cform class=\u0022modal-form-example-modal-form ecl-form\u0022 data-drupal-selector=\u0022modal-form-example-modal-form\u0022 action=\u0022\/en\/article\/modal\/6457\u0022 method=\u0022post\u0022 id=\u0022modal-form-example-modal-form\u0022 accept-charset=\u0022UTF-8\u0022\u003E\u003Cp\u003EHorizon articles can be republished for free under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0) licence.\u003C\/p\u003E\n \u003Cp\u003EYou must give appropriate credit. We ask you to do this by:\u003Cbr \/\u003E\n 1) Using the original journalist\u0027s byline\u003Cbr \/\u003E\n 2) Linking back to our original story\u003Cbr \/\u003E\n 3) Using the following text in the footer: This article was originally published in \u003Ca href=\u0027#\u0027\u003EHorizon, the EU Research and Innovation magazine\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\n \u003Cp\u003ESee our full republication guidelines \u003Ca href=\u0027\/horizon-magazine\/republish-our-stories\u0027\u003Ehere\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\n \u003Cp\u003EHTML for this article, including the attribution and page view counter, is below:\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cdiv class=\u0022js-form-item form-item js-form-type-textarea form-item-body-content js-form-item-body-content ecl-form-group ecl-form-group--text-area form-no-label ecl-u-mv-m\u0022\u003E\n \n\u003Cdiv\u003E\n \u003Ctextarea data-drupal-selector=\u0022edit-body-content\u0022 aria-describedby=\u0022edit-body-content--description\u0022 id=\u0022edit-body-content\u0022 name=\u0022body_content\u0022 rows=\u00225\u0022 cols=\u002260\u0022 class=\u0022form-textarea ecl-text-area\u0022\u003E\u003Ch2\u003EMaking materials just one atom thick\u003C\/h2\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe inside of the chamber is less than a trillionth of the air pressure in the surrounding lab. It also contains a heater that can reach thousands of degrees and a microscope capable of imaging surfaces down to the level of the atom.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EDr Garnica\u2019s goal is to create tiny but completely perfect materials in just two dimensions.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003ESometimes she simply wants to prove that they can, indeed, be coaxed into existence. Other times the goal is to thoroughly understand their physics, and sometimes she has also \u2018decorated\u2019 them with atoms and molecules, just to see what happens.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EShe is at the leading edge of an explosion in making 2D materials since a one-atom-thick layer of carbon known as graphene was first isolated in 2004 by pulling sticky tape across the surface of a pencil.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EIn a recent \u003Ca href=\u0022http:\/\/www.nature.com\/nchem\/journal\/vaop\/ncurrent\/full\/nchem.2600.html\u0022 target=\u0022_blank\u0022 rel=\u0022noopener noreferrer\u0022\u003Epaper \u003C\/a\u003Epublished in \u003Cem\u003ENature Chemistry\u003C\/em\u003E, Dr Garnica, who is based at the Technical University of Munich, and her colleagues report that they have managed to make a new type of structure by fusing other organic molecules to the edges of graphene \u2013 a novel way of giving graphene interesting properties that could find applications in technology and medicine.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u2018It is the first time that it\u2019s been proved that graphene can be functionalised by this method,\u2019 said Dr Garnica, who has been funded by the EU under the Marie Sk\u0142odowska-Curie Actions programme.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003ETo make graphene, Dr Garnica heats a rod of graphite to thousands of degrees until a few atoms of carbon gently lift away and lay themselves, in a single layer, on a crystal of silver.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EShe also wants to make a 2D layer of silicon carbide, highly anticipated amongst theorists as a semiconductor that could rival silicon, the material that forms the basis for the electronic circuits we use today.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EShe is simultaneously vaporising graphite and a wafer of silicon, in the hope that their atoms will nestle together into a honeycomb lattice atop another crystal of silver.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe goal is to thoroughly understand 2D materials at an atomic level. That\u2019s because,\u0026nbsp;since graphene was first discovered in Manchester, UK,\u0026nbsp;2D layered materials are giving engineers the tools they need to create the highly efficient and flexible devices needed for a low-carbon world.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u2018It is just one of hundreds, if not thousands of layered materials,\u2019 explained Professor Jonathan Coleman at Trinity College Dublin, Ireland, who has now created 25 different 2D materials \u2013 and he\u2019s still going.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EBlender\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EHe\u2019s at the other end of the scale, making 2D materials using the laboratory equivalent of a kitchen blender.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EProf. Coleman perfected his technique on graphene, dissolving graphite in soapy water and then blending it.\u003Cblockquote class=\u0022tw-text-center tw-text-blue tw-font-bold tw-text-2xl lg:tw-w-1\/2 tw-border-2 tw-border-blue tw-p-12 tw-my-8 lg:tw-m-12 lg:tw--ml-16 tw-float-left\u0022\u003E\n \u003Cspan class=\u0022tw-text-5xl tw-rotate-180\u0022\u003E\u201c\u003C\/span\u003E\n \u003Cp class=\u0022tw-font-serif tw-italic\u0022\u003E\u2018Nanoscience doesn\u2019t have to be complicated, it doesn\u2019t have to be high tech.\u2019\u003C\/p\u003E\n \u003Cfooter\u003E\n \u003Ccite class=\u0022tw-not-italic tw-font-normal tw-text-sm tw-text-black\u0022\u003EProf. Jonathan Coleman, Trinity College Dublin, Ireland\u003C\/cite\u003E\n \u003C\/footer\u003E\n\u003C\/blockquote\u003E\n\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe blades slice through the liquid with a shear energy that slides graphite layers apart, and the soapy water swiftly coats each flake, preventing them from clumping back together.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EBoron nitride, an effective insulator, was next. \u2018It\u2019s the simplest after graphene,\u2019 said Prof. Coleman.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003ESoon after came molybdenum disulphide, which as it turns out can hold three to four times as much electric charge as the graphite that is traditionally used in lithium-ion batteries. He has also created a 2D version of nickel hydroxide, a catalyst which could improve the quality of fuel cells, which make electricity from hydrogen and oxygen.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003ETo his surprise, Prof. Coleman\u2019s blender technique has also managed to make phosphorene \u2013 one of the potential high-flyers of the 2D world because, like silicon carbide, it promises to be a semiconductor to rival silicon.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EAlthough it is very unstable, he found that if he adds certain liquids to the mix they will protect the sheets of phosphorene from chemicals that might react with it, leading to a substance that might be useful in batteries and gas sensors.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u2018Nanoscience doesn\u2019t have to be complicated, it doesn\u2019t have to be high tech,\u2019 said Prof. Coleman, who has been funded by the EU\u2019s European Research Council.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u2018It can be quite simple, and that\u2019s actually really important.\u2019\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Ciframe src=\u0022https:\/\/europa.eu\/webtools\/crs\/iframe\/?oriurl=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.youtube.com%2Fembed%2FSZfBIQIKz9Q\u0022 width=\u0022560\u0022 height=\u0022315\u0022 frameborder=\u00220\u0022\u003E\u003C\/iframe\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cem\u003EProf. Coleman discussing graphene at TEDxBrussels.\u003C\/em\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003C\/textarea\u003E\n\u003C\/div\u003E\n\n \u003Cdiv id=\u0022edit-body-content--description\u0022 class=\u0022ecl-help-block description\u0022\u003E\n Please copy the above code and embed it onto your website to republish.\n \u003C\/div\u003E\n \u003C\/div\u003E\n\u003Cinput autocomplete=\u0022off\u0022 data-drupal-selector=\u0022form-5kcvl8sulxsnqdrxhvowsws7elfar4vpqsedjxajmuu\u0022 type=\u0022hidden\u0022 name=\u0022form_build_id\u0022 value=\u0022form-5KcVL8sulxSnqDRXHVowswS7ELfAR4VpQsedjXajMUU\u0022 \/\u003E\n\u003Cinput data-drupal-selector=\u0022edit-modal-form-example-modal-form\u0022 type=\u0022hidden\u0022 name=\u0022form_id\u0022 value=\u0022modal_form_example_modal_form\u0022 \/\u003E\n\u003C\/form\u003E\n\u003C\/div\u003E","dialogOptions":{"width":"800","modal":true,"title":"Republish this content"}}]