Principal Investigator at CRANN, the TCD and UCC based nanoscience research institute, and Professor in the School of Physics, Trinity College Dublin Jonathan Coleman been awarded a prestigious European Research Commission (ERC) Starter Grant of €1.5 million.
The awards are given to only 300 top scientists across Europe, representing less than 10% of those who apply and are paid out over a five-year period.
The research grant is based on Prof Coleman’s work with graphene and his teams novel method of being able to split graphite (millions of graphene sheets stuck tightly together) down into individual layers of graphene, which could be used to make stronger and lighter materials. They could be incorporated into any product that uses plastic, making composites which are stronger, lighter and more environmentally friendly than their pure plastic counterpart e.g. aircraft parts, car parts, sport and household goods.
Two of the materials that Prof Coleman is currently researching are Bismuth Telluride and Molybdenum Disulfide. Bismuth Telluride is used to generate energy from waste heat, for example from car engines or nuclear plants etc. Professor Colemans method of separating graphene using a liquid process could be applied to bismuth telluride, which could then be coated onto thin film substrates and attached to the side of a moving car or a nuclear plant to capture the lost heat energy and convert it into usable electrical energy.
Molybolenum disulfide is currently being evaluated for use in batteries. However production of this is currently time consuming and complicated. Using the methods developed by Professor Colemans group, one would be able to produce and apply the films much simpler and faster, allowing industrialisation of the process.
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