Research Profile
Two-dimensional materials (2DMs) became popular over the last decade and offers great promise in applications ranging from electronic devices to catalysis, and from information technology to medicine. 2DMs represent a class of low-dimensional nanomaterials with single- to few-layers thickness (≤ 10 layers) and high structural definition at the atomic/molecular level. The are featured by nanoscale thickness in one dimension and “infinite” size in the other two dimensions.
Graphene as the most well-known 2DM possesses astonishing properties, such as high charge carrier mobility, thermal conductivity and mechanical strength. Inspired by the success of graphene, an enormous interest in developing new 2DMs has been triggered. One of the key challenges faced by the scientific community so far is to go beyond the limitations of graphene (such as band gap tunability, etc.) and synthesize 2DMs with high structural control at the atomic or molecular level.
The Collaborative Research Centre (CRC) 1415 aims at the controlled bottom-up synthesis and development of novel classes of synthetic 2DMs with high structural definition. In detail, our objectives are methodology-/structure- and property-driven topics for the proposed 2DMs. In consequence, three research areas have been established , which bridge A) material synthesis, B) characterization and C) theory. Research groups with expert knowledge in chemical synthesis and functionalization, characterization, modelling and evaluation of structures and properties of 2DMs and their analogues, combine their forces under the common vision of the CRC.
Despite the progress made, critical scientific questions persist and will be addressed in the next years by developing synthetic methodologies for 2DMs and their 2D van der Waals (vdW) heterostructures (HSs), exploring (in-situ) characterization techniques, and advancing theoretical description. Therefore, the CRC will shift the focus towards understanding and tailoring the functional properties of 2DMs and addressing how these properties evolve in 2D HSs.