Funded by Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC), and in partnership with researchers from Imperial College London and the University of Leeds, the programme will use atomic-scale materials engineering to unlock new capabilities in future secure communications systems, ultra-sensitive quantum sensors and scalable quantum computing – all areas recognised as strategically important to the UK's future economic prosperity, security and technological resilience. 

The five-year Materials Engineering for Advanced Devices (MEAD) EPSRC Programme Grant will bring together researchers to address one of the most significant challenges facing modern technology: how to engineer materials with such precision that their properties can be controlled at the level of individual atoms to realise new devices and capability. 

Materials underpin every advanced electronic and optical device. However, translating breakthroughs made at the atomic scale into technologies that can be manufactured reliably and at scale remains a major challenge. 

MEAD will exploit deterministic single-atom doping and isotopic engineering to create materials with entirely new functionalities, crucially demonstrating they can be manufactured and deployed in devices for future technologies.

Turning atomic-scale research into future technologies

The programme will draw on an extensive network of national research facilities and expertise across the three partner institutions, underpinned by more than £150 million of existing infrastructure investments in advanced materials characterisation, semiconductor fabrication and quantum technologies. Together, these facilities provide a unique environment for translating fundamental scientific discoveries into technologies with real-world impact.

Professor Neil Alford of Imperial College London said: "Many of the technologies that society will depend on in the coming decades will require levels of precision and performance that cannot be achieved using today's materials alone. MEAD is about creating the materials, devices and measurement capabilities needed to unlock the next generation of communications, quantum technologies and sensing systems."

Professor Edmund Linfield of the University of Leeds added: "The UK is already globally renowned in areas such as quantum technologies, semiconductor engineering and advanced materials. MEAD brings these strengths together with a shared ambition to create technologies that will support future economic growth, scientific discovery and national capability."

Developing next generation devices

The programme's scope includes:

• Design and fabrication of quantum devices based on precisely engineered semiconductor materials, including advanced "qudits", which can carry more information than conventional quantum bits. Using the fabrication capabilities of the Bragg Centre for Materials Research at the University of Leeds, and selective deterministic ion implantation at The University of Manchester, MEAD will create devices with previously unachievable levels of atomic control, providing a pathway towards more scalable and efficient quantum computing systems.
• Development of highly sensitive "masers", the microwave equivalent of lasers, in work led by Imperial College London. These devices are capable of amplifying extremely weak signals with exceptionally low noise, making them attractive for both advanced communications and quantum technologies. They are likely to play a vital role in future terrestrial communications systems that are less reliant on satellites, offering greater resilience in an increasingly connected world.
• Investigation of new approaches to measuring motion, gravity and environmental changes by harnessing the properties of quantum systems. The programme will aim to generate sensing performance improvements of up to five orders of magnitude beyond current state-of-the-art technologies.
• Development of new AI-powered imaging and characterisation techniques capable of helping scientists identify and analyse materials at the scale of individual atoms. This will provide insight into how atomic-scale changes influence device performance, accelerating the development of future technologies.

Leading UK materials expertise

Today’s announcement builds on Manchester, Imperial and Leeds’ long-standing leadership in advanced materials engineering and quantum technologies, with recent research highlights including:

• Highly 28Si enriched silicon by localised focused ion beam implantation, Nature Communications, 10.1038/s43246-024-00498-0
• A High-Resolution Versatile Focused Ion Implantation Platform for Nanoscale Engineering, Advanced Engineering Materials, 10.1002/adem.202300889
• “Maser-in-a-shoebox”: A portable plug-and-play maser device at room temperature and zero magnetic field, Applied Physics Letters, 10.1063/5.0181318
• Exploring the spin dynamics of a room-temperature diamond maser using an extended rate equation model, Journal of Applied Physics, 10.1063/5.0164930
• Analysis of plasmon modes in Bi2Se3/graphene heterostructures via electron energy loss spectroscopy, Scientific Reports, 10.1038/s41598-024-81488-7
• Optimizing Hot Electron Harvesting at Planar Metal–Semiconductor Interfaces with Titanium Oxynitride Thin Films, Applied Materials and Interfaces, 10.1021/acsami.3c02812

The study published in Materials & Design investigated molten metal deposition (MMD), an additive manufacturing technology. Unlike many established metal 3D-printing techniques, MMD operates at lower and more controllable temperatures, potentially reducing energy use while making it easier to manufacture complex components. 

The researchers examined how different processing conditions influence the formation of microscopic defects and grain structures within aluminium alloy 4043, a material widely used in manufacturing and engineering applications. Their findings provide new evidence that carefully controlling the thermal conditions during printing can reduce defects and improve the final material structure. 
 

Metal additive manufacturing is attracting increasing attention because it can create complex geometries while reducing material waste. However, many existing techniques involve extremely rapid heating and cooling, which can introduce defects, residual stresses and distortions into the finished part. MMD offers a different approach by depositing aluminium that has already been melted, reducing the intensity of thermal cycling experienced during manufacture. 

To understand how the process influences material quality, the team produced aluminium alloy samples using different nozzle and substrate temperatures. They then used advanced microscopy techniques to investigate grain structure, crystallographic orientation and the distribution of microscopic pores inside the printed components. Mechanical testing was also carried out to assess performance. 

The researchers found that higher nozzle and substrate temperatures slowed cooling during printing. This led to larger grain structures and increased levels of porosity, tiny voids within the material that can affect performance. In contrast, lower processing temperatures promoted faster cooling, resulting in finer grain structures and fewer defects. 

The study also revealed that defect levels and grain size generally decreased as printing progressed through successive layers of a component. This suggests that thermal conditions evolve throughout the build process, influencing how the material solidifies over time. The team identified a strong relationship between grain size and porosity, providing valuable insight into how manufacturing parameters shape material quality. 

Despite the presence of some defects, the mechanical properties of the printed components were found to be comparable with those achieved using conventional manufacturing routes. The researchers reported hardness and elastic modulus values that fall within the expected range for aluminium alloy 4043, highlighting the practical potential of the technology. 

Dr Wu and Dr Mirihanage added: “Molten metal deposition is still a relatively new manufacturing technology, and there is currently limited understanding of how processing conditions affect the final material. By establishing clear links between processing parameters, microstructure and defect formation, this work provides a foundation for optimising future manufacturing strategies and improving the reliability of aluminium components produced using MMD.” 

The researchers believe the findings will help accelerate the development of molten metal deposition for industrial applications where component quality, consistency and efficiency are critical. 

MMD has been developed by ValCUN BV, a Belgium based manufacturer focused on developing deployable and affordable metal additive manufacturing. 
 

Researchers at The University of Manchester have developed a new computational approach to help identify two-dimensional materials that may host unusual quantum behaviour. The work, published in Science Advances focuses on materials with “flat bands”, electronic states where electrons have very little kinetic energy. In these materials, interactions between electrons can become much more important, creating conditions linked to phenomena such as magnetism, unconventional superconductivity and topological electronic behaviour.  

Finding real materials with flat bands from large dataset is difficult. Conventional searches often rely on density functional theory calculations, which can reveal a material’s electronic structure but are time-consuming when applied across thousands of possible candidates. The Manchester team took a different route. They developed a physics-informed scoring system that captures two signatures of flat-band behaviour, low band dispersion and a strong peak in the density of states, then trained a model to estimate that score directly from atomic structure. 

“Flat bands are not only a feature we see in electronic calculations. They are often connected to the geometry of atoms in a material.” said Dr Xiangwen Wang, leading author of the study. “Our approach learns from that structure, which means we can search much larger materials spaces in a more targeted and interpretable way.” 

The framework was trained using known two-dimensional materials and then applied to more than 10,000 unlabelled 2D materials. Among high-scoring candidates with kagome-like structural motifs, follow-up quantum calculations confirmed flat-band behaviour with 98.2% accuracy. The study also identified several materials predicted to host fragile topological flat bands, a form of electronic topology associated with strongly correlated quantum phases. These results suggest that the method can do more than sort large datasets, it can help reveal which structural features make certain materials promising for further study. 

Dr Qian Yang, Senior Research Fellow in the National Graphene Institute at The University of Manchester, said: “The exciting part is not only that we found new candidate materials, but that the method changes how we search. Rather than calculating everything first and looking afterwards, we can now use physical intuition and structural learning to guide the search from the beginning. That makes discovery more scalable and more interpretable.” 

The approach remains computational, so experimental work will be needed to test the most promising candidates in the laboratory. However, the researchers say the same strategy could be adapted to search for other classes of quantum materials, provided the target property can be expressed as a meaningful physics-based score. By connecting physical insight with structure-based learning, the study offers a more efficient way to move from large materials databases to shortlists of candidates for detailed quantum calculations and experimental validation. 

Researchers from Professor Radha Boya’s team in The University of Manchester’s Department of Physics and the National Graphene Institute, working with Diamond Light Source and Freie Universität Berlin, found that water reorganises in surprising ways at the smallest molecular scales. Hydrogen bonds give water many of its familiar properties, but until now it has been extremely difficult to test what happens when water is forced into a flat, single-layer arrangement because the amount of material is so small. 

By combining atomically precise nanochannels with the ultra-bright synchrotron infrared microbeam at Diamond Light Source’s MIRIAM beamline B22, the team was able to measure the vibrational modes of water confined down to a single molecular layer. 

Professor Radha Boya from The University of Manchester said: “You can think of bulk water as a three-dimensional network where each molecule is constantly forming and breaking hydrogen bonds in all directions. When you squash water into a single layer, that network simply cannot hold together in the same way. For the first time, we were able to directly see how those bonds rearrange in this extreme limit.” 

The researchers created angstrom-scale slit channels using stacks of two-dimensional materials, including graphite and hexagonal boron nitride. These materials acted as both atomically smooth confining walls and optical amplifiers, boosting the weak infrared absorption signal from just a single layer of water. 

Infrared spectroscopy is highly sensitive to the stretching vibrations of O-H bonds within water molecules. By comparing water in channels of different heights with water in bulk regions of the same device, the researchers tracked how those vibrational frequencies changed as the water layer became thinner, down to a monolayer. 

The team found that when water is confined to a true monolayer, its infrared absorption spectrum shifts to higher frequencies. Dr Gianfelice Cinque of Diamond Light Source said: “My first excitement was being able to measure, at beamline B22, the vibrational fingerprint of a single monolayer of water. To our knowledge, this is the first time that the transition from 3D to 2D water has been directly detected with an infrared microprobe. The blue shift is a clear sign that the hydrogen-bonding network is disrupted compared with bulk water.” 

“Our measurements show that monolayer water does not resemble a flat version of ordinary liquid water,” added Professor Boya. “Instead, it forms a fragmented, mosaic-like structure made up of small hydrogen-bonded clusters surrounded by poorly bound or free molecules.” 

The study also showed that this behaviour is specific to the monolayer limit. Once the channels exceeded around one nanometre in height, equivalent to roughly three molecular layers of water, the vibrational signatures began to move back towards those of bulk water, indicating recovery of a more conventional hydrogen-bond network.

To understand the origin of these spectral changes, the experiments were supported by atomistic simulations. Professor Roland Netz of Freie Universität Berlin said: “Despite the disrupted bonding, monolayer water is unexpectedly dense and structurally distinct from both bulk water and simple interfacial water at surfaces.” 

The findings provide direct experimental evidence for long-standing theoretical predictions about two-dimensional water and offer a benchmark for future studies of confined fluids. 

Dr Marcos Martins, first author of the study at The University of Manchester, said: “Water confined at this scale plays a role in everything from nanofluidic devices to biological channels and energy technologies. Having a direct experimental picture of how its structure changes at the single-layer limit helps us understand the physical rules that govern these systems.” 

The ability to directly measure how water reorganises at the single-layer limit could help researchers design better angstrom-scale technologies, including nanofluidic circuits, selective membranes, and electrochemical and energy devices where confined water shapes interfacial behaviour. The same platform could also be used to study other ultrathin liquids and solvated ions, expanding experimental access to extreme confinement in materials science and biology. 

The new laboratory has been designed as a shared research and innovation space, providing GEIC partners, researchers and technology developers with access to specialist facilities that support a growing range of bioengineering applications. 

Built to Containment Level 2 (CL2) standards and approved for Genetically Modified Organism Class 1 (GM1) work, the facility significantly broadens the scope of projects that can be undertaken within the GEIC. The addition strengthens the Centre's ability to support organisations seeking to develop and scale innovations that combine advanced materials, biotechnology and engineering. 

The laboratory opens new possibilities across a range of application areas, including biosensing, antimicrobial technologies, environmental monitoring, mineral extraction, healthcare and sustainable industrial processes. Supported by GEIC's experienced team of application specialists, the facility will help partners accelerate the development and commercialisation of new technologies. 

The new facility complements the GEIC's existing capabilities in materials development, de-risking and scale-up, providing an environment for multidisciplinary projects that combine biological and advanced materials. 

Since the opening of the GEIC in 2018 we have had to be responsive to industries and the market’s needs. This new bioengineering facility shows our commitment to investing in keeping the GEIC a relevant world class facility. – Phil Hirst, Technical Manager, GEIC. 

The bioengineering laboratory reflects the GEIC's continued evolution in response to emerging industry needs, creating new opportunities for collaboration and the translation of research into commercial applications. It further strengthens the GEIC’s position as a leading hub for advanced materials innovation and industrial partnership. 

To discover how the GEIC can support your next project, explore our full range of capabilities: https://www.graphene.manchester.ac.uk/geic/our-capabilities

The work focuses on tellurium, a semiconductor of interest for electronic, thermoelectric and optoelectronic applications, where performance depends strongly on the size and shape of the nanostructures produced. Although liquid-phase synthesis is a scalable and relatively low-cost way to make these materials, it has been difficult to observe exactly how anisotropic tellurium structures begin to form and evolve during growth.

Using liquid-phase transmission electron microscopy, the researchers tracked the early stages of tellurium formation at the nanoscale. They found that tellurium first appears as spherical seed particles, which then give rise to multiple nanowires. During growth, nearby wires compete for available material, affecting local growth speed and branching. Across the experiments, local nanowire growth rates were measured in the range of 1 to 15 nm per second, depending on electron flux and the presence of neighbouring structures.

Professor Sarah Haigh, corresponding author at The University of Manchester and the National Graphene Institute, said: “This study lets us see, in real time, how tellurium nanowires emerge and evolve in liquid. By directly observing nucleation, growth and branching at the nanoscale, we can begin to understand how to control these processes much more precisely. That matters because the performance of tellurium-based materials depends strongly on their size and shape.”

A second key finding was that bismuth seed nanoparticles dramatically change how tellurium grows. In the microscopy experiments, bismuth increased the number of nucleation sites and promoted more highly branched, fern-like structures. Follow-up electrodeposition experiments confirmed that bismuth also lowers the reducing potential needed for tellurium deposition and can substantially increase the amount of tellurium deposited under the same conditions. Together, these results show how insights from real-time microscopy can guide more effective materials synthesis outside the microscope.

Dr Yi-Chao Zou, co-corresponding author, said: “One of the most exciting aspects of this work is that the behaviour we observed in the liquid cell translated into conventional electrodeposition experiments. We found that bismuth seeding not only promotes tellurium nucleation but also makes deposition easier and more productive at a fixed potential. That opens up new possibilities for designing tellurium nanostructures with tailored morphologies for future device applications.”

The study, a collaboration between Sun Yat-sen University, The University of Manchester, the National Graphene Institute and Beijing Institute of Technology, suggests that real-time microscopy can do more than describe nanostructure growth. In this case, it identified a specific way to alter nucleation behaviour and improve deposition under defined experimental conditions. That could help researchers refine how tellurium nanostructures are produced for device-relevant studies, while keeping claims closely tied to the systems tested here.  The team report the findings could help accelerate the optimisation of low-dimensional nanostructures for electronics, energy conversion and sensing applications.

The study, published in Nature Communications, demonstrates how placing graphene close to a magnetic material can influence the spin of electrons without permanently altering graphene itself. By combining this magnetic proximity effect with graphene superlattices and operating at very low charge densities, the researchers were able to strongly tune how spins move through the material. 

“This work shows that by combining graphene with nearby magnetic materials, we can gain a high level of control over electron spin using electrical signals alone,” said Dr Daniel Burrow, from The University of Manchester. “In simple terms, we are learning how to pass information through graphene using the spin of electrons rather than their electrical charge.” 

Electron spin is a quantum property that can act like a tiny magnetic compass needle. While conventional electronics rely on the movement of charge, spin-based approaches aim to use this magnetic degree of freedom to process and carry information, potentially reducing energy losses. 

In the study, the team used cobalt contacts to induce magnetism in graphene through proximity, meaning the graphene itself does not become magnetic. They then injected and detected pure spin currents, allowing them to probe how spin transport changes across different electronic regimes. 

Near the charge neutrality point, where graphene has very few mobile charge carriers, the researchers observed a clear reversal of the spin signal. This behaviour indicates that the magnetic proximity effect creates a spin dependent energy splitting in graphene, which governs how spins travel through the material. 

Importantly, the same effect was also observed at additional neutrality points that appear when graphene is precisely aligned with hexagonal boron nitride. These so called superlattice features show that proximity induced spin control applies not only to graphene’s original electronic bands but also to those reconstructed by the superlattice structure. 

“Our measurements show that the same underlying mechanism controls spin transport across all these regimes,” said Dr Burrow. “That tells us we are seeing a robust physical effect rather than something specific to a single device setting.”

The strongest signals were observed in a bilayer graphene superlattice device designed to open an energy gap in the electronic structure. In this specific system, the researchers measured spin polarisations approaching 50 per cent and nonlocal spin resistances exceeding 300 ohms. These values are nearly two orders of magnitude larger than those measured away from charge neutrality in the same experimental platform. 

The study shows that low carrier density, combined with magnetic proximity effects and engineered band structure, can greatly enhance spin filtering and detection. While the work focuses on demonstrating the physics, the authors note that electrical control of spin at low power could be relevant for future spin based electronic technologies. 

“This research shows that we can engineer graphene systems where spin signals become both large and electrically tunable,” said Dr Jesus Toscano Figueroa, a co-author of the study. “That opens up new ways to explore spin transport in two-dimensional materials and brings us closer to using these effects in practical devices.” 

The three‑year project, REMOVE‑UM: REcovering MOlecular ValuE from Unrecycled Multi‑materials, funded by EPSRC and Defra will develop new technologies to tackle some of the most challenging waste products. 

Recycling has the potential to recover significant value from materials at the end of their life, playing a crucial role in building a more sustainable future. However, while current systems are effective for simple, single materials that can be easily sorted and cleaned, they struggle to deal with complex, multi-material products. 

Michael Shaver, Project Lead and Professor of Polymer Science at The University of Manchester, explains: “Recycling to recover value from materials at end-of-life is a tantalising component of a sustainable future. However, multi-material products – vapes, cars, batteries, furniture – comingle a host of plastics, metals, glass, ceramics and other materials designed to meet ever-increasing consumer demand for low-cost, high-performance, lightweight, aesthetically pleasing consumer goods. These staggeringly complex multi-materials are reaching their end-of-life with no strategy to facilitate the (re)integration of their components, materials or molecules into a circular economy.  

“Developing an economically viable and environmentally advantageous end of-life for multi-materials is vital. However, to achieve this in a just manner, it is essential we understand economic, societal, and environmental outcomes, coupling systemic approaches to ambitious fundamental research.” 

The REMOVE‑UM project will take a fundamentally new approach, developing methods to break down these materials at a molecular level and recover valuable components that can be reused. 

The work will combine expertise from across The University of Manchester, bringing together specialists in chemical recycling, catalysis, sustainability assessment and materials science.  

The project will focus on four key areas: 

• Analysing waste streams to understand their composition and potential value 

• Developing chemical processes to selectively break down complex materials into valuable products 

• Separating recovered molecules efficiently while minimising environmental impact 

• Working closely with industry partners to translate discoveries into real‑world applications and accelerate their commercial application. 

By targeting materials that current infrastructure cannot process, the team aims to complement existing recycling systems, rather than replace them.  

A core aim of the project is to ensure new recycling approaches are technically feasible, economically viable and environmentally sustainable. Life cycle assessment and economic analysis will be integrated throughout to guide decisions and deliver real benefits for society. The project also aims to cut reliance on fossil fuels by recovering reusable chemicals, while generating insights into how waste systems operate to reduce investment risk and support future recycling infrastructure. 

Dr Kedar Pandya, Executive Director for Strategy at EPSRC said: “This investment reflects our commitment to building a cleaner, more sustainable UK economy. By funding ambitious, collaborative and impactful research into recycling technologies, we are helping to tackle some of the most complex challenges in our waste system from collection through to currently hard-to-recycle material recovery. The research being undertaken, which is jointly funded by EPSRC and Defra, will support the long-term transition to a circular economy and creates the conditions for genuine economic and environmental benefit for the UK.” 

The project will be co-led by Dr Ciaran Lahive, Royal Academy of Engineering Research Fellow in the Department of Materials; Dr Rosa Cuellar-Franca, Senior Lecturer in the Department of Chemical Engineering;  Professor Marloes Peeters, Chair in Engineering Biology; Christopher Hardacre, Professor of Chemical Engineering; and Dr Shanshan Xu, Dame Kathleen Ollerenshaw Fellow.  

It builds on sustained work in this area by these researchers, including:  

• Chemical Recycling of Polycarbonate Acrylonitrile Butadiene Styrene Blends via Organocatalyzed Acetolysis, ChemSusChem, https://doi.org/10.1002/cssc.202502161
• Recyclable Epoxy Composites Built with a Biobased Hardener, ACS Sustainable Chemistry & Engineering, https://doi.org/10.1021/acssuschemeng.5c07184
• Environmental Sustainability Assessment of Supercritical CO₂ in Gel-spun UHMWPE Fibre Production, ACS Sustainable Chemistry & Engineering, https://doi.org/10.1021/acssuschemeng.5c07037
• Defining quality by quantifying degradation in the mechanical recycling of polyethylene, Nature Communications, https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-024-52856-8
• Untangling the chemical complexity of plastics to improve life cycle outcomes, Nature Materials Reviews, https://doi.org/10.1038/s41578-024-00705-x  

In a new study published in Physical Review X, the team demonstrates how electrons can travel ballistically, i.e. without experiencing any scattering or resistance, over micrometre distances in graphene at low temperature and maintain spin coherence all the way up to room temperature. By using a technique known as transverse magnetic focusing (TMF), they were able to bend electron trajectories like light rays traversing a lens and show that these curved paths carry a clear spin signature.

Manchester-based Co-author Dr Daniel Burrow said, “What’s exciting here is that we can shape the path of electrons in graphene and, at the same time, tune how their spins behave. It’s a bit like using a set of lenses and mirrors, but for spin-polarised electrons. This opens a practical way to control spin without needing strong spin–orbit interaction in the material.”

Electron paths reveal spin behaviour

The team’s graphene device uses ferromagnetic cobalt contacts to inject and detect spin-polarised electrons at the edge of an encapsulated graphene channel. When a small out-of-plane magnetic field is applied, electrons paths curve into so-called cyclotron orbits. If those orbits are the right size, they land directly on the detector contact producing distinct peaks in signal at specific magnetic fields. These TMF peaks provide a direct fingerprint of ballistic electron motion. Three such peaks were resolved in the study.

Crucially, the height and sign of these TMF peaks changed depending on the alignment of the magnetic contacts, showing that the focused signal carried spin information. This confirms that ballistic trajectories, rather than diffusive scattering processes, were responsible for transporting spin across the device.

Control at the flick of a gate voltage

By varying the voltage applied to the back gate, which tunes the density of electrons in graphene, the researchers could modulate the spin signal dramatically. In some conditions, they enhanced the signal relative to standard nonlocal spin-valve measurements. In others, they could reverse its polarity altogether.

This tunability arises from a coupling between the electrons’ orbital motion and their spin, which occurs because the ferromagnetic contacts induce local charge-transfer doping as well as  proximity-exchange effect at the graphene edge. So the graphene next to the contact behaves like a magnetic material, and the ballistic movement of electrons from this region into the rest of the non-magnetic graphene channel leads to the spin-dependent electron optics. The result is a transistor-like behaviour for spin, achieved without introducing spin–orbit coupling into the graphene channel.

A route toward practical spin-based devices

The team observed clear ballistic behaviour at low temperature (25 K), with quasi-ballistic transport still present at room temperature. Because the TMF peaks remained sensitive to spin at these higher temperatures, the researchers demonstrate that spin-coherent ballistic transport can survive under conditions suitable for real world devices.

This approach provides a new operational principle for spintronic components: devices that rely on controlling the spin of electrons rather than their charge. The mechanism echoes the idea behind the Datta–Das spin field-effect transistor but achieves spin modulation through electron optics effects rather than spin–orbit interactions.

Co-author Dr Ivan Vera Marun added, “We have shown that electron optics in graphene can do more than guide electrons, it can actively shape their paths in a spin-dependent manner. Being able to control spin in this way, using low-power and scalable materials, moves us closer to practical spin-based technologies and future quantum systems.”

The ICAM is a successful partnership between bp, The University of Manchester, University of Cambridge, Imperial College London and the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. Since its launch in 2012, the ICAM has supported research ranging from PhD-led exploratory projects to large-scale strategic initiatives involving multiple teams. The Centre has strengthened research capabilities, fostered interdisciplinary collaboration and provided students and early career researchers with valuable experience working alongside bp experts. Its model embeds bp Mentors within project teams, ensuring research remains industrially relevant and accelerates translation from laboratory to application.

The ICAM’s Next Chapter

Building on more than a decade of interdisciplinary research in materials science, the ICAM will continue to make a difference in today’s energy systems and help build tomorrow’s, while aligning with bp’s strategic interests and technology roadmaps.

The ICAM’s research supports bp’s ambition to be a net zero company and to help get the world to net zero by 2050 or sooner by improving understanding of materials, processes and energy systems that can lower emissions and enhance performance. Recent examples include research on sustainable catalysts for CO₂ conversion through the ICAM's EPSRC Prosperity Partnership on Sustainable Catalysis for Clean Growth, and work to develop better modelling tools for sustainable aviation fuel.

In recent years, the ICAM has welcomed additional expertise from associate members including Cardiff University and Johnson Matthey, both central to its previously mentioned Prosperity Partnership as well as University College London, University of Edinburgh, University of Leeds, University of Sheffield and University of Texas at Austin.

In its next chapter, the ICAM will continue to exemplify what can be achieved when industry and academia work together to address energy challenges.

The team found that growing a widely used magnetic alloy, permalloy, on ultra‑thin MoS₂ alters the film’s internal crystal structure, changing how and where energy is lost as magnetic spins move. By separating energy losses that occur at the surface of the film from those arising within its internal structure, the researchers provide new design insights for devices that use two‑dimensional (2D) materials to control magnetism more efficiently.

Crucially, the work uses large‑area, manufacturing‑compatible MoS₂, showing that these effects are not confined to laboratory‑scale samples but are relevant for real, scalable spintronic technologies.

The study, published in Physical Review Applied, demonstrates that transition‑metal dichalcogenides (TMDs) can alter the fundamental properties of magnetic films. The results highlight the importance of careful comparison with control materials when assessing the impact of 2D layers on magnetic behaviour.

Spintronics is an alternative to conventional electronics that uses not only the charge of electrons, but also their spin, to store and process information. This approach underpins emerging technologies for magnetic memory and has potential applications in energy‑efficient, high‑speed computing. A major challenge in spintronics, however, is energy loss: as magnetic spins move, some energy is inevitably dissipated as heat, limiting device speed and efficiency.

In this work, the researchers studied thin films of permalloy grown on top of large‑area MoS₂ produced using industry‑compatible chemical vapour deposition. They found that the ultra‑clean interface between permalloy and MoS₂ reduces energy loss at the surface of the magnetic film. At the same time, subtle changes within the film’s crystal structure slightly increase internal energy loss.

By clearly separating these two effects, the team was able to explain why previous studies of 2D materials and magnetism have sometimes produced conflicting results.

To reach these conclusions, the researchers used ferromagnetic resonance, a technique in which a high‑frequency magnetic field causes spins inside a magnetic material to wobble, similar to a spinning top slowing down due to friction. By measuring how quickly this wobble fades, the team could determine how and where energy is dissipated. Varying the thickness of the magnetic layer allowed them to distinguish losses occurring at the surface from those within the bulk of the film.

The results point to new routes for designing lower‑power, faster spintronic memory, where material interfaces are engineered to minimise unwanted energy loss without sacrificing performance.

“This work is exciting because the fundamental effects a two‑dimensional material can have on magnetic thin films are still largely unexplored,” said Dr Henry De Libero, lead author of the study and Research Associate in THz Spintronics at the University of Manchester. “We’ve shown how these changes affect energy loss, which is a crucial property for next‑generation memory technologies.”

The study shows that 2D materials do not always increase energy loss and that, with the right interface, they can reduce it.

This research was published in the journal Physical Review Applied.

Full title: Separation of bulk and surface contributions to the damping of permalloy on large-area chemical-vapor-deposited Mo⁢S₂.

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1103/wfsl-4mhb

The National Graphene Institute (NGI) is a world-leading graphene and 2D material centre, focussed on fundamental research. Based at The University of Manchester, where graphene was first isolated in 2004 by Professors Sir Andre Geim and Sir Kostya Novoselov, it is home to leaders in their field – a community of research specialists delivering transformative discovery. This expertise is matched by £13m leading-edge facilities, such as the largest class 5 and 6 cleanrooms in global academia, which gives the NGI the capabilities to advance underpinning industrial applications in key areas including: composites, functional membranes, energy, membranes for green hydrogen, ultra-high vacuum 2D materials, nanomedicine, 2D based printed electronics, and characterisation.

The paper, authored by the Sustainable Materials Innovation Hub at The University of Manchester, explores the consequences of terminology choices on end-of-life solutions for plastic waste. While recycling has long been touted as a solution for plastic sustainability - it comes in many forms, and can sometimes serve as a smokescreen for genuine discussions around sustainability.

The researchers, Seiztinger, Lahive, and Shaver, find directional terms - such as ‘upcycling’ and ‘downcycling’ - to be poorly defined as value propositions, and that their use can skew perceptions of the benefits, potentially posing barrier to circularity.

‘Downcycling’, for instance, implies the production of a less favourable or ‘less good’ material as the end product of the recycling process, while ‘upcycling’ has positive connotations. However, despite what these terms suggest, a ‘downcycled’ stream may produce a high value product, while an ‘upcycled’ path may have a greater negative environmental impact than alternative routes.

Using these terms assigns disproportionate value to certain end-of-life plastic solution strategies, and can be used by supporters or detractors of different recycling technologies to obscure genuine evaluation of their environmental impact.

The study, published in the journal Cambridge Prisms: Plastics, suggests that plastic waste solutions consistently fail to live up to their marketed messaging, and that clearer communication of the true value of the product from a recycling process is essential to drive investment in proper plastic waste management. Corresponding author Professor Michael Shaver, Professor of Polymer Science at The University of Manchester, said: “The confused terminology surrounding the fate of waste plastic often lacks a consideration of value and unintended consequences. As these terms are now being used to promote technologies outside of a sustainable system, we felt it important to argue for clarity and caution when presuming quality from this directional terminology.”

The researchers argue that no single solution offers a quick fix, and that it is wrong for the terminology to suggest otherwise. They call for greater clarity over how we value end-products. They suggest a ‘spiral system’ of reuse, in which plastic materials are treated as complex mixtures that, like crude oil, can be chemically deconstructed at the end of their life and transformed to become a huge range of longer-lasting products over their lifetime.

For example, a yoghurt pot could be reconstituted into car parts, and then after that into a park bench. Ultimately, after many years of service, it could be chemically deconstructed, and turned back into a yoghurt pot. As the polypropylene in such simple packaging is already used in cars, hard shell suitcases, garden furniture, appliances, and plumbing, a cross-sector approach to reuse of plastic waste could generate more value than an approach focused solely on single-use packaging.

By moving away from direction-loaded terminology, researchers suggest that plastic waste solutions can be judged on the measurable environmental and economic value of the end-products, rather than an assumed or subjective value based on language, that is not always supported by full life-cycle assessment or economic analysis.

Dr Claire Seitzinger added: “Building a circular plastics economy means looking at the whole system, not isolated solutions pitched against each other. Policy, industry, innovation and collaboration across sectors are essential for a sustainable future. The next time you eat a yoghurt, where do you want the pot to end up? Should it become another yoghurt pot? A park bench? A car? What is best? And what should you, the packaging producer, or the government do to make that to happen?”

Paper details:

Journal: Cambridge Prisms: Plastics 

Full title: Up, down and back again: Value judgements in polymer recycling

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/plc.2026.10041.pr1

From the 23rd to the 27th February 2026, a new exhibition will showcase the exciting work of Digital Futures' and its' digital research activity.

Focusing on its five research themes - Digital Cultures, Digital Economy, Digital Health, Digital Society and Digital Worlds, and two capability themes - Digital Skills and AI@Manchester, the exhibition will present a series of posters introducing each theme and new theme lead and the existing multidisciplinary strengths at The University of Manchester.

The exhibition will be at based in space B2 on the Ground Floor of The Nancy Rothwell Building all week. Visit us to learn more and explore new ways to shape our digital future!

Researchers at The University of Manchester's National Graphene Institute have now achieved the first atomic‑resolution imaging of monolayer transition metal diiodides, made possible by creating graphene‑sealed TEM samples that prevent these highly reactive materials from degrading on contact with air. The study, published in ACS Nano, demonstrates that fully encapsulating the crystals in graphene preserves atomically clean interfaces and extends their usable lifetime from seconds to months. This capability arises from refinements to an inorganic stamp transfer approach the team previously developed and reported in Nature Electronics, which provided the basis for producing stable, hermetically sealed samples.

“Working with these materials felt impossible at first as they are completely destroyed after a few seconds air exposure, preventing traditional fabrication approaches.” explained Dr Wendong Wang who has worked on developing the transfer technique and fabricated the samples in question. “Our approach protects samples r without any unnecessary transfer stages. Being able to make samples that can survive not just hours but months, and for international transfer between facilities, solves a major bottleneck in 2D materials research.“

“Once we were able to make stable samples, we were able to make several interesting observations about these materials, including identifying extensive local structural variations for the thinnest samples, atomic defect dynamics and edge structure evolution”, states Dr Gareth Tainton who conducted the TEM imaging and analysis as part of this work. “The structures of 2D materials are closely linked to their properties, and so being able to directly observe not only the structures of the different crystals, from monolayers up to bulk thicknesses, but also defect behaviour will hopefully inform further work on these materials to unlock their potential in technology”

“What excites me most is how this opens up previously inaccessible scientific territory. We've known theoretically that many reactive 2D materials have exceptional properties for electronics, optoelectronics, and quantum applications, but we couldn't get stable samples into the lab to test those predictions", commented Prof Roman Gorbachev of the National Graphene Institute, who led the investigation. 

This research was published in the journal ACS Nano.

Full title: Atomic Imaging of 2D Transition Metal Diiodides

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1021/acsnano.5c19196

Professor Roman Gorbachev is available for interview on request.

The visit formed a key component of the WRC 2026 programme, an initiative established by SWA to strengthen partnerships with leading international universities and to accelerate innovation in water technologies. During the visit, His Excellency and the SWA delegation toured the NGI and GEIC facilities, engaging directly with researchers, engineers, and University of Manchester (UoM) spinouts and startups including Watercycle Technologies, Molymem, and Hollowgraf, all of which are developing advanced materials and water-related technologies.

His Excellency was formally welcomed to the University by Professor Stephen Flint, Associate Vice-President, who hosted a formal meeting to discuss strategic collaboration priorities and opportunities for deeper engagement between SWA and The University of Manchester.

In his opening address at WRC 2026, His Excellency Eng. Abdullah bin Ibrahim Al-Abdulkarim stated: “We rely on science, innovation and technology as the catalyst for our future. Science alone will not be enough to serve the globe. We share a responsibility to connect scientific progress with applied knowledge, applied technology and strong systems that improve lives. Water is life, and water is economy.”

At NGI, discussions focused on fundamental and translational research in advanced materials for water applications. The SWA delegation expressed strong interest in developing structured training and capacity-building programmes, particularly joint PhD training and researcher development initiatives, to help nurture the next generation of scientists and engineers working at the intersection of advanced materials and water technologies.

At GEIC, discussions focused on applied research and the translation of validated ideas towards scalable solutions addressing real-world water and water-infrastructure challenges. The SWA team highlighted opportunities to collaborate on near-to-market technologies, pilot-scale demonstrations, and industry-facing innovation programmes capable of delivering tangible impact.

Prof Rahul R. Nair, Chair of WRC 2026 and Professor of Materials Physics at The University of Manchester, said:

“We were pleased to welcome His Excellency and the Saudi Water Authority delegation to Manchester. The visit reflects a strong alignment between our research capabilities and SWA’s strategic priorities, and we look forward to establishing impactful collaborations in advanced materials and water technologies.”

The delegation also expressed interest in partnering with the Rabigh Water Oasis facilities as a platform for testing, validation, and demonstration of innovative technologies emerging from NGI, GEIC, and UoM spinouts. Such a partnership would support the translation of UK-developed innovations into operational environments and help accelerate pathways to deployment at scale.

The visit further enabled SWA leadership to engage with Watercycle Technologies, Molymem, and Hollowgraf, showcasing innovation across membranes, sensing, advanced materials, and circular water technologies. This interaction reinforced a shared ambition to translate research excellence into deployable solutions for global water challenges. As part of the visit, SWA also signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Hollowgraf to advance future collaboration in water technologies.

The Water Research Community Meeting 2026 brought together over 200 participants, including senior leaders, policymakers, researchers, and innovators from Saudi Arabia, the UK, and other countries, to align strategic priorities and explore new partnership pathways across sustainability, the circular economy, clean and renewable energy, and process innovation.

This high-level visit marks an important step towards strengthening long-term collaboration between SWA and The University of Manchester, combining the UK’s leadership in advanced materials and innovation infrastructure with Saudi Arabia’s capabilities, investment, and testbed facilities in water technologies.

Over the past two years, HydroGraph and the GEIC have worked side by side to translate cutting-edge research into real-world impact. Together, they have built an extensive library of case studies showing how HydroGraph’s pristine graphene improves performance in diverse applications. Their joint efforts have also generated a commercial pipeline of more than 75 projects commercialising graphene enhanced solutions across sectors such as medical devices, composites and coatings. These successes have been matched by advances in manufacturing: HydroGraph has scaled production from pilot quantities to about one ton per month and plans to scale output to full commercial scale as additional reactors and a new Texas facility come on stream.

The move to Tier 1 status opens a new chapter for the partnership. HydroGraph will establish a dedicated laboratory within the GEIC and gain broader access to the centre’s world-class facilities and technical expertise. This will allow more joint projects to move swiftly from laboratory validation to industrial trials, shorten time to market, and integrate Manchester’s capabilities with HydroGraph’s expanding production footprint. It will also support deeper collaboration with strategic partners such as the U.S. Army Research Laboratory (ARL), building on initial engagements in Manchester to explore new opportunities in North America.

James Baker, CEO of Graphene@Manchester, welcomed the development. “We are thrilled that through our partnership with HydroGraph we are growing our activities in the United States alongside the ARL. From an initial engagement here in Manchester we are now seeing real opportunities and traction in the U.S. market. This demonstrates the power of the GEIC to leverage collaboration across our Tier 1 and Tier 2 partners. With this Tier 1 extension HydroGraph will be able to tap into our full range of capabilities – from composites and energy storage to printing and coatings – while enjoying a dedicated laboratory in the GEIC and access to the broader resources of the University of Manchester.”

Kjirstin Breure, Chief Executive Officer of HydroGraph, added: “Over the past two years as a Tier 2 member, our collaboration with the GEIC has turned promising ideas into real world applications and industrial trials. Elevating to Tier 1 is the natural next step. It provides deeper access to facilities and expertise, speeds up our innovation cycles, and supports closer collaboration with partners such as ARL. We are excited about what this upgrade will enable for HydroGraph, for Manchester and for our customers.”

By strengthening their partnership, HydroGraph and the GEIC are reaffirming Manchester’s position at the forefront of graphene innovation. Together they will continue to pioneer sustainable, high-performance graphene applications that deliver benefits across industry and society.

The GEIC operates a partnership model, offering a variety of engagement options tailored to the scope, scale, duration and complexity of development projects. Visit here for more information and to get in touch.

The TechExpert pilot, part of the TechFirst skills programme, will support 500 new doctoral students eligible for home fee status in participating UKRI Centres for Doctoral Training (CDTs) and Doctoral Focal Awards (DFAs) in the six frontier industries under the digital and technologies sector in the UK’s modern industrial strategy, plus a small number prioritised for digital and technologies in the Financial Services sector agreed between the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology and HM Treasury.

TechExpert students will receive an enhanced stipend of £10,000 above the UKRI minimum stipend. In return students will be asked to take part in additional TechExpert activities for up to 10 days each year, including outreach to promote tech careers, networking with the TechFirst community and engagement with the tech industry. 

The aim of the TechExpert pilot is to strengthen the UK’s innovation pipeline and build a more inclusive, resilient and high-impact research ecosystem. It will test whether a higher stipend makes doctoral study a more competitive and financially viable alternative to entry-level industry roles, retaining talented graduates in research roles at doctoral level to upskill for future tech careers, as well as providing a viable way back into these roles for those who are employed. 

This programme is being delivered by the UKRI Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC), working with the Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC) and Natural Environment Research Council (NERC), on behalf of the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology.

The University of Manchester has been awarded a major grant to lead a new programme that will transform the lifecycle of graphite in nuclear energy - an essential material for the future deployment of nuclear power.

The award brings together world-leading expertise led by The University of Manchester in collaboration with the Universities of Oxford, Plymouth, and Loughborough.

Nuclear energy is expected to play a central role in the UK’s net zero goals as it emits nearly zero carbon dioxide or other greenhouse gas emissions – but it comes with challenges.

The five-year ENLIGHT programme (Enabling a Lifecycle Approach to Graphite for Advanced Modular Reactors) will develop critical technologies to support the deployment of next-generation nuclear energy technology and will address two of the UK’s most pressing nuclear challenges - securing a sustainable, sovereign supply of nuclear graphite and finding solutions to manage the country’s growing volume of irradiated graphite waste.

The project is supported with an £8.2m grant from UK Research and Innovation’s Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC), Higher Education Institutions, and around £5m of contributions from industry partners.

The programme of research, collaboration, and skills development aims to secure the UK’s position at the forefront of nuclear innovation and a global leader in advanced reactor technology and clean energy innovation.

Graphite is a critical component in many next-generation Advanced Modular Reactors (AMRs), including High Temperature Gas-cooled Reactors and various Molten Salt Reactor designs - technologies key to achieving the UK’s ambition to deliver 24GW of new nuclear power by 2050.

The material accounts for around one-third of reactor build costs, yet despite its importance, the UK currently relies entirely on imports to meet demand.

With the existing Advanced Gas-cooled Reactor fleet approaching decommissioning by 2028, and more than 100,000 tonnes of irradiated graphite already in storage, ENLIGHT will pioneer new approaches to both recycling legacy material and producing new, sustainable high-performance graphite suitable for future AMRs.

Dr Greg Black, Senior Advisor at the Environment Agency, said: “The Environment Agency look forward to participating as a partner in the ENLIGHT programme. As the environmental regulator for the nuclear industry in England, we consider the ambitions of the ENLIGHT programme on 'sustainable graphite' aligns with our Regulatory and RD&I areas of interest.”

The programme will focus on three strands of work:

• Sustainable Graphite – Developing processes for decontaminating, recycling and reusing irradiated graphite from AMR deployment.
• Graphite Selection & Design – Designing new graphite materials engineered to withstand extreme conditions in AMR environments.
• Graphite Performance – Understanding how these new materials behave in novel AMR conditions to improve its lifespan.

These advances could save the UK up to £2 billion in future waste management costs and offers a pathway to strengthen the UK’s unique position as a global hub for graphite research and innovation.

Professor James Marrow, Professor of Energy Materials at the University of Oxford will lead theme two around graphite selection and design. He said: “I’m delighted to be leading Theme two (Graphite Selection & Design – Designing new graphite materials engineered to withstand extreme conditions in AMR environments) in this major project.  Materials will contribute to several work packages across the whole activity, and our initial focus will be on novel studies of mechanical damage to support the design and qualification of new nuclear graphites for advanced fission reactors.”

At Loughborough University, researchers are contributing advanced computational modelling to explore how nuclear graphite behaves under extreme conditions.

Dr Kenny Jolley, Senior Lecturer in Materials Modelling at Loughborough University, said: “This will help us predict how and when these critical reactor components may fail, guiding the design of stronger, more reliable materials for the reactors of tomorrow. Our research also supports the reuse and recycling of existing graphite, helping to make future nuclear energy both safer and more sustainable."

The University of Plymouth will bring expertise in the analysis of porous materials, which will play a critical role in evaluating the performance and suitability of repurposed graphite.

Dr Katie Jones, Lecturer in Environmental and Analytical Chemistry at the University of Plymouth, said: “This project is not just about scientific discovery; it's about pioneering sustainable solutions for nuclear energy, turning waste into a valuable resource and bolstering the UK's energy security for decades to come. This consortium embodies a truly cyclical and green approach to nuclear solutions, aiming for a cleaner energy transition and helping to demystify some of the traditional concepts that surround the nuclear industry. Our expertise in analysing the intricate properties of porous materials will be instrumental in ensuring the suitability of repurposed graphite for next-generation nuclear reactors, and we are particularly excited to have the opportunity to grow our relationship with The University of Manchester – and our industrial partners across the nuclear industry – through this initiative.”

ENLIGHT will also focus on skills development to expand the national graphite research community and train the next generation of graphite scientists and engineers essential to the UK's clean energy future.

Home to the Dalton Nuclear Institute and a core partner in the Henry Royce Institute, The University of Manchester is uniquely positioned to lead the ENLIGHT programme. The University brings together cutting-edge facilities from the Irradiated Materials Laboratory and the Molten Salts in Nuclear Technology Laboratory.

ENLIGHT will also build on Manchester's role in flagship activities and initiatives including, the Nuclear Waste Services Research Support Office, the SATURN Centre for Doctoral Training in Nuclear Energy, Robotics and AI in Nuclear (RAIN) and Robotics and AI Collaboration in Cumbria (RAICo).

Silver has long been used to combat bacteria, particularly in wound care, due to its ability to release ions that disrupt bacterial cells. However, current approaches have limitations; silver can be released too rapidly or unevenly, potentially harming surrounding healthy tissue and resulting in short-lived or inconsistent antibacterial protection.

The Manchester team tackled these issues by designing a graphene oxide-based membrane that can release silver ions slowly and precisely over time. The key lies in the structure of the membrane itself, its nanoscale channels act like filters, regulating how much silver is released.

"Our research represents a paradigm shift in antimicrobial coating technology," states lead author Prof Rahul R Nair. "By harnessing the potential of graphene oxide membranes, we've unlocked a method for controlled silver ion release, paving the way for sustained antimicrobial efficacy in various applications.”

The team also created a testing model that better reflects real biological conditions. By using foetal bovine serum in lab trials, they could simulate the environment the coating would encounter in the body, offering a clearer view of how it performs over time.

“This approach allows us to deliver just the right amount of silver for extended protection,” first author Dr Swathi Suran adds. “It has potential in many areas, including wound care dressings and antimicrobial coatings for implants, and could bring long-term benefits for both patients and healthcare providers.”

As the team looks ahead, they're focused on exploring how this coating could be integrated into a range of everyday and medical products, making bacterial resistance less of a hidden threat and more of a manageable challenge.

This research was published in the journal Small.

Full title: Tunable Release of Ions from Graphene Oxide Laminates for Sustained Antibacterial Activity in a Biomimetic Environment

DOI: 10.1002/smll.202570220

The National Graphene Institute (NGI) is a world-leading graphene and 2D material centre, focussed on fundamental research. Based at The University of Manchester, where graphene was first isolated in 2004 by Professors Sir Andre Geim and Sir Kostya Novoselov, it is home to leaders in their field – a community of research specialists delivering transformative discovery. This expertise is matched by £13m leading-edge facilities, such as the largest class 5 and 6 cleanrooms in global academia, which gives the NGI the capabilities to advance underpinning industrial applications in key areas including: composites, functional membranes, energy, membranes for green hydrogen, ultra-high vacuum 2D materials, nanomedicine, 2D based printed electronics, and characterisation.

The team uncovered a rare type of wave, known as a shear phonon polariton, in a two-dimensional form of the material. Phonon polaritons are light-matter hybrid waves that emerge when light interacts with atomic vibrations in certain crystals. They can travel through materials in unusual ways and concentrate light into extremely small volumes.

In this study, the researchers found that in  thin films of gypsum, these waves undergo a topological transition, shifting from hyperbolic to elliptical behaviour, passing through a unique canalized state.

This transition allows scientists to tune how light propagates through the material.

“The studies of shear phonon polaritons in previous studies were limited to bulk crystals in the hyperbolic regime. In our study we aimed to complement those initial findings with shear polaritons in a 2-dimentional material,” said Dr Pablo Díaz Núñez, who co-led the study. “And remarkably, we discovered that shear phonon polaritons in gypsum support a topological transition from hyperbolic to elliptical propagation, with canalization in between.”

Dr Díaz Núñez added, “Moreover, we were able to confine light to a space twenty-five times smaller than its wavelength and slow it down to just a fraction of its speed in vacuum, this opens up new possibilities for manipulating light at the nanoscale.”

The research also highlights the role of crystal symmetry. Gypsum belongs to a class of materials with low symmetry, specifically to the monoclinic crystal system, which gives rise to asymmetric light propagation and energy loss, the central characteristic of shear polaritons.

These findings extend beyond fundamental research of phonon polariton propagation and could support future developments in areas that rely on precise control of light, such as thermal management, sensing, and imaging beyond the limits of conventional optics. Moreover, the study introduces gypsum as a new platform for exploring advanced photonic concepts in emerging areas like non-Hermitian photonics.

This research was published in the journal Science Advances.

Full title: Visualization of topological shear polaritons in gypsum thin films

DOI: 10.1126/sciadv.adw3452

The National Graphene Institute (NGI) is a world-leading graphene and 2D material centre, focussed on fundamental research. Based at The University of Manchester, where graphene was first isolated in 2004 by Professors Sir Andre Geim and Sir Kostya Novoselov, it is home to leaders in their field – a community of research specialists delivering transformative discovery. This expertise is matched by £13m leading-edge facilities, such as the largest class 5 and 6 cleanrooms in global academia, which gives the NGI the capabilities to advance underpinning industrial applications in key areas including: composites, functional membranes, energy, membranes for green hydrogen, ultra-high vacuum 2D materials, nanomedicine, 2D based printed electronics, and characterisation.

Developed with the support of engineers at The University of Manchester since 2019, Concretene is a graphene-enhanced admixture for concrete that improves compressive strength and durability, enabling removal of cement and a reduced carbon footprint.

The company has extended its production and materials testing facility in the adjacent Pariser Building – part of the new Sister Innovation District – taking advantage of the advanced materials ecosystem delivered by the GEIC.

Concretene is one of several technologies being developed and applied at the GEIC to explore the potential of graphene in construction. It aims to create a more sustainable and cost-effective solution for the industry by increasing the service life of concrete and reducing cement requirements.

This is an ideal case study for ‘the Manchester model’ of innovation, whereby an idea for the exploitation of nanomaterials is grown through The University of Manchester to become a spin-out company, creating high-value jobs and encouraging inward investment in the city.

Concretene has attracted £1.9m of UK government funding and £6m of venture capital investment since its incorporation in late 2022 and has grown to a staff of 20.

Three Innovate UK-funded projects have delivered significant advances in the application of graphene-enhanced concrete:

• GraphEnhance – scale-up of graphene and graphene oxide supply chain (with Black Swan Graphene and William Blythe).
• SMART – pre-cast foundation pilings (with Roger Bullivant)
• GCRE – low-carbon railway sleepers (with Cemex Rail)

Prototype trials have demonstrated compressive strength increases up to 50% in ready-mix applications and 15-20% in pre-cast, all showing compatibility with existing low-carbon concrete mixes incorporating cement replacements (CEM II limestone, CEM III GGBS).

Tests by the Building Research Establishment (BRE) on Concretene’s low-carbon railway sleeper for Cemex have indicated improvements in durability, notably to mitigate shrinkage – a common problem for low-carbon concretes that can lead to cracking and shorter service life.

Collaboration is ongoing with ARUP – the global design and engineering consultancy, which is one of Concretene’s equity partners – and a range of material suppliers to hone specifications for different concrete mixes and applications, with a programme of further scaled trials upcoming to produce the robust dataset required for product certification and launch.

James Baker, CEO of Graphene@Manchester, said:
“We’re incredibly proud to support Concretene’s journey as a standout example of how graphene innovation at the GEIC can scale into real-world industrial impact. Their progress reflects the strength of our collaborative model, which brings together engineers, researchers and industry to tackle global challenges like decarbonising construction. Concretene represents the kind of transformative work we’re driving forward, and we continue to collaborate with a broad range of partners to accelerate the adoption of graphene-enhanced technologies that deliver both environmental and economic benefits.”

Mike Harrison, CEO of Concretene, said:
“We’re really pleased to extend our deal with the GEIC for another three years. Having a dedicated formulation development facility, technical support and high-end microscopy and characterisation kit on site has been invaluable in the development of the product. The proximity of growth and maker space within the Sister Innovation District has allowed us to remain in Manchester and we are grateful of the support from this community.

“We look forward to building on our success to date with the GEIC, commissioning our pilot plant in the Pariser Building and supporting asset owners in their journey to decarbonise concrete in construction.”

Advanced materials is one of The University of Manchester’s research beacons - examples of pioneering discoveries, interdisciplinary collaboration and cross-sector partnerships tackling some of the planet's biggest questions. #ResearchBeacons

Desalination of seawater and brackish water is one of the essential solutions to the increasing global challenge of water scarcity. Yet, widespread deployment of desalination technologies remains limited due to high upfront costs and intensive energy requirements. Moreover, current desalination systems use fossil fuels contributing to greenhouse gas emissions.

To address these challenges, the EU-funded project AQUASOL brings together a multidisciplinary team of seven partners from six countries to explore and develop innovative solutions to facilitate green transition in desalination processes. To achieve this, the consortium will develop a technological platform that will enable the integration of renewable energy sources into desalination technologies and provide disruptive solutions for seawater and wastewater treatment.

Professor Rahul Nair, a researcher at Manchester, will develop graphene-based membranes designed to treat seawater and brackish water more efficiently. The goal is to increase membrane durability and reduce energy demands, offering practical improvements over current desalination systems.

The partners, comprising of research institutions, universities and small and medium businesses, met in Barcelona to officially launch the project, which started earlier this month.

AQUASOL, which stands for Advanced Quality Renewable Energy-Powered Solutions For Water Desalination In Agriculture And Wastewater Recycling, has a total budget of over €3.6M and will run for 3 years. The University of Manchester joins six other partners: Instituto Tecnológico de Canarias (Spain), Strane Innovation (France), Ferr-Tech B.V. (Netherlands), farmB (Greece), and Aarhus University (Denmark).

Acknowledgements

Funded by the European Union. Views and opinions expressed are however those of the author(s) only and do not necessarily reflect those of the European Union or European Research Executive Agency (REA). Neither the European Union nor the granting authority can be held responsible for them.

We’re home to 700 materials experts, revolutionising industries by developing advanced materials that unlock new levels of performance, efficiency, and sustainability. Supported by the £885m campus investment over the last 10 years, our researchers are at the forefront of materials innovation, creating game-changing solutions. From healthcare to manufacturing, we’re tackling global challenges and ensuring the UK's reputation as a technology ‘super power'. Find out more about our advanced materials research.

The team designed a two-dimensional (2D) manganese-oxide/graphene superlattice that triggers a unique lattice-wide strain mechanism. This approach significantly boosts the structural stability of the battery’s cathode material, enabling it to operate reliably over 5,000 charge-discharge cycles. That’s around 50% longer than current zinc-ion batteries.

The research, published in Nature Communications, offers a practical route to scalable, water-based energy storage technologies.

Atomic-level control over battery durability

The breakthrough centres on a phenomenon called the Cooperative Jahn-Teller Effect (CJTE). A coordinated lattice distortion caused by a specific 1:1 ratio of manganese ions (Mn³⁺ and Mn⁴⁺). When built into a layered 2D structure on graphene, this ratio produces long-range, uniform strain across the material.

That strain helps the cathode resist breakdown during repeated cycling.

The result is a low-cost, aqueous zinc-ion battery that performs with greater durability, and without the safety risks linked to lithium-ion cells.

“This work demonstrates how 2D material heterostructures can be engineered for scalable applications,” said Prof Guoxiu Wang, lead and corresponding author from University of Technology Sydney and a Royal Society Wolfson visiting Fellow at The University of Manchester. “Our approach shows that superlattice design is not just a lab-scale novelty, but a viable route to improving real-world devices such as rechargeable batteries. It highlights how 2D material innovation can be translated into practical technologies.”

Towards better grid-scale storage

Zinc-ion batteries are widely viewed as a promising candidate for stationary storage, storing renewable energy for homes, businesses or the power grid. But until now, their limited lifespan has restricted real-world use.

This study shows how chemical control at the atomic level can overcome that barrier.

Co-corresponding author Prof Rahul Nair from The University of Manchester said, “Our research opens a new frontier in strain engineering for 2D materials. By inducing the cooperative Jahn-Teller effect, we’ve shown that it’s possible to fine-tune the magnetic, mechanical, and optical properties of materials in ways that were previously not feasible.”

The team also demonstrated that their synthesis process works at scale using water-based methods, without toxic solvents or extreme temperatures - a step forward in making zinc-ion batteries more practical for manufacturing.

This research was published in the journal Nature Communications.

Full title: Cooperative Jahn-Teller effect and engineered long-range strain in manganese oxide/graphene superlattice for aqueous zinc-ion batteries

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-025-60558-y

We’re home to 700 materials experts, revolutionising industries by developing advanced materials that unlock new levels of performance, efficiency, and sustainability. Supported by the £885m campus investment over the last 10 years, our researchers are at the forefront of materials innovation, creating game-changing solutions. From healthcare to manufacturing, we’re tackling global challenges and ensuring the UK's reputation as a technology ‘super power'. Find out more about our advanced materials research.

The National Graphene Institute (NGI) is a world-leading graphene and 2D material centre, focussed on fundamental research. Based at The University of Manchester, where graphene was first isolated in 2004 by Professors Sir Andre Geim and Sir Kostya Novoselov, it is home to leaders in their field – a community of research specialists delivering transformative discovery. This expertise is matched by £13m leading-edge facilities, such as the largest class 5 and 6 cleanrooms in global academia, which gives the NGI the capabilities to advance underpinning industrial applications in key areas including: composites, functional membranes, energy, membranes for green hydrogen, ultra-high vacuum 2D materials, nanomedicine, 2D based printed electronics, and characterisation.

The results have been published in the journal Nature Communications.

Using a new two-step fabrication method, the researchers demonstrated for the first time that it is possible to create and monitor, ‘as they switch on’, individual Group-IV quantum defects in diamond—tiny imperfections in the diamond crystal lattice that can store and transmit information using the exotic rules of quantum physics. By carefully placing single tin atoms into synthetic diamond crystals and then using an ultrafast laser to activate them, the team achieved pinpoint control over where and how these quantum features appear. This level of precision is vital for making practical, large-scale quantum networks capable of ultra-secure communication and distributed quantum computing to tackle currently unsolvable problems.

Study co-author Professor Jason Smith, Department of Materials at the University of Oxford, said: “This breakthrough gives us unprecedented control over single tin-vacancy colour centres in diamond, a crucial milestone for scalable quantum devices. What excites me most is that we can watch, in real time, how the quantum defects are formed.”

Specifically, the defects in the diamond act as spin-photon interfaces, which means they can connect quantum bits of information (stored in the spin of an electron) with particles of light. The tin-vacancy defects belong to a family known as Group-IV colour centres—a class of defects in diamond created by atoms such as silicon, germanium, or tin.

Group-IV centres have long been prized for their high degree of symmetry, which gives them stable optical and spin properties, making them ideal for quantum networking applications. It is widely thought that tin-vacancy centres have the best combination of these properties—but until now, reliably placing and activating individual defects was a major challenge.

The researchers used a focused ion beam platform—essentially a tool that acts like an atomic-scale spray can, directing individual tin ions into exact positions within the diamond. This allowed them to implant the tin atoms with nanometre accuracy—far finer than the width of a human hair.

To convert the implanted tin atoms to tin-vacancy colour centres, the team then used ultrafast laser pulses in a process called laser annealing. This process gently excites tiny regions of the diamond without damaging it. What made this approach unique was the addition of real-time spectral feedback—monitoring the light coming from the defects during the laser process. This allowed the scientists to see in real time when a quantum defect became active and adjust the laser accordingly, offering an unprecedented level of control over the creation of these delicate quantum systems.

Study co-author Dr Andreas Thurn from the University of Cambridge, said: “What is particularly remarkable about this method is that it enables in-situ control and feedback during the defect creation process. This means we can activate quantum emitters efficiently and with high spatial precision - an important tool for the creation of large-scale quantum networks. Even better, this approach is not limited to diamond; it is a versatile platform that could be adapted to other wide-bandgap materials.”

Moreover, the researchers observed and manipulated a previously elusive defect complex, termed “Type II Sn”, providing a deeper understanding of defect dynamics and formation pathways in diamond.

Study co-author Professor Richard Curry, Professor of Advanced Electronic Materials at The University of Manchester, said: “This work unlocks the ability to create quantum objects on demand, using methods that are reproducible and can be scaled up. This is a critical step in being able to deliver quantum devices and allow this technology to be utilised in real-world commercial applications.”

The study ‘Laser Activation of Single Group-IV Colour Centres in Diamond’ has been published in Nature Communications: https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-025-60373-5

Researchers at The University of Manchester have developed a ground-breaking method to precisely measure the strength of hydrogen bonds in confined water systems, an advance that could transform our understanding of water’s role in biology, materials science, and technology. The work, published in Nature Communications, introduces a fundamentally new way to think about one of nature’s most important but difficult-to-quantify interactions.

Hydrogen bonds are the invisible forces that hold water molecules together, giving water its unique properties, from high boiling point to surface tension, and enabling critical biological functions such as protein folding and DNA structure. Yet despite their significance, quantifying hydrogen bonds in complex or confined environments has long been a challenge.

“For decades, scientists have struggled to measure hydrogen bond strength with precision,” said Professor Artem Mishchenko, who led the study with Dr Qian Yang and Dr Ziwei Wang. “Our approach reframes hydrogen bonds as electrostatic interactions between dipoles and an electric field, which allows us to calculate their strength directly from spectroscopic data.”

The team used gypsum (CaSO₄·2H₂O), a naturally occurring mineral that contains two-dimensional layers of crystalline water, as their model system. By applying external electric fields to water molecules trapped between the mineral’s layers, and tracking their vibrational response using high-resolution spectroscopy, the researchers were able to quantify hydrogen bonding with unprecedented accuracy.

“What’s most exciting is the predictive power of this technique,” said Dr Yang. “With a simple spectroscopic measurement, we can predict how water behaves in confined environments that were previously difficult to probe, something that normally requires complex simulations or remains entirely inaccessible.”

The implications are broad and compelling. In water purification, this method could help engineers fine-tune membrane materials to optimise hydrogen bonding, improving water flow and selectivity while reducing energy costs. In drug development, it offers a way to predict how water binds to molecules and their targets, potentially accelerating the design of more soluble and effective drugs. It could enhance climate models by enabling more accurate simulations of water’s phase transitions in clouds and the atmosphere. In energy storage, the discovery lays the foundation for “hydrogen bond heterostructures”, engineered materials with tailored hydrogen bonding that could dramatically boost battery performance. And in biomedicine, the findings could help create implantable sensors with better compatibility and longer lifespans by precisely controlling water-surface interactions.

“Our work provides a framework to understand and manipulate hydrogen bonding in ways that weren’t possible before,” said Dr Wang, first author of the paper. “It opens the door to designing new materials and technologies, from better catalysts to smarter membranes, based on the hidden physics of water.”

This research was published in the journal Nature Communications.

Full title: Quantifying hydrogen bonding using electrically tunable nanoconfined water

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-025-58608-6 [doi.org]

The research was supported by the European Research Council and UK Research and Innovation (UKRI).

The National Graphene Institute (NGI) is a world-leading graphene and 2D material centre, focussed on fundamental research. Based at The University of Manchester, where graphene was first isolated in 2004 by Professors Sir Andre Geim and Sir Kostya Novoselov, it is home to leaders in their field – a community of research specialists delivering transformative discovery. This expertise is matched by £13m leading-edge facilities, such as the largest class 5 and 6 cleanrooms in global academia, which gives the NGI the capabilities to advance underpinning industrial applications in key areas including: composites, functional membranes, energy, membranes for green hydrogen, ultra-high vacuum 2D materials, nanomedicine, 2D based printed electronics, and characterisation.

The breakthrough centres around an active spatial light modulator, a surface with more than 300,000 sub-wavelength pixels capable of manipulating THz light in both transmission and reflection. Unlike previous modulators, which were limited to small-scale demonstrations, the Manchester team integrated graphene-based THz modulators with large-area thin-film transistor (TFT) arrays, enabling high-speed, programmable control over the amplitude and phase of THz light across expansive areas.

Professor Coskun Kocabas, Professor of 2D Device Materials at The University of Manchester, commented, “We have developed a new method to dynamically control THz waves at an unprecedented scale and speed. By integrating graphene optoelectronics with advanced TFT display technologies, we can now reconfigure complex THz wavefronts in real time.”

The research demonstrates various capabilities, including programmable THz transmission patterns, beam steering, greyscale holography, and a proof-of-concept single-pixel THz camera. These functionalities are made possible through fine-tuned electrostatic gating of graphene, a material known for its unique electrical and optical properties at THz frequencies.

Co-author Dr M. Said Ergoktas, now a lecturer at the University of Bath, added, “Our devices operate by adjusting local charge densities on a continuous graphene sheet, allowing for pixel-level control without the need for graphene patterning. This architecture allows for scalable fabrication using commercial display backplanes.”

The team’s device architecture also supports dynamic beam steering and the generation of structured THz beams carrying orbital angular momentum, key features for advanced THz communication systems. One striking demonstration showed how a binary “fork” diffraction pattern generated donut-shaped beams with tunable vortex order, useful in multiplexed data transmission and beam shaping.

Beyond communications, the researchers showcased a single-pixel THz camera capable of imaging concealed metallic objects, representing a significant advance for non-invasive inspection in security, industrial monitoring, and medical diagnostics. This approach uses compressive sensing algorithms to reconstruct images from modulated THz patterns, highlighting the flexibility of their programmable platform.

“Until now, THz modulators have struggled with scale and speed,” Kocabas noted. “By leveraging display technology, we demonstrate that it's possible to bring this field from lab-scale demonstrations to real-world applications.”

Future directions

The authors indicate that the next steps involve enhancing modulation speeds and extending these systems to operate in reflection mode for full spectroscopic imaging. Future work may also focus on integrating this platform with advanced beamforming systems and next-generation 6G wireless technologies.

The National Graphene Institute (NGI) is a world-leading graphene and 2D material centre, focussed on fundamental research. Based at The University of Manchester, where graphene was first isolated in 2004 by Professors Sir Andre Geim and Sir Kostya Novoselov, it is home to leaders in their field – a community of research specialists delivering transformative discovery. This expertise is matched by £13m leading-edge facilities, such as the largest class 5 and 6 cleanrooms in global academia, which gives the NGI the capabilities to advance underpinning industrial applications in key areas including: composites, functional membranes, energy, membranes for green hydrogen, ultra-high vacuum 2D materials, nanomedicine, 2D based printed electronics, and characterisation.

Congratulations to CDT student Patrick Sarsfield, winner of the £20,000 second prize with co-founder of Graphene Thermal Daniel Mills. Patrick is currently doing his PhD in the Theory of Electronic Properties of Graphene.

Manchester’s reputation as a global leader in graphene innovation was reinforced as The Masood Entrepreneurship Centre (MEC) announced the winners of the 2025 Eli & Britt Harari Graphene Enterprise Award. The prestigious competition, which supports students, postgraduates, and recent alumni in turning cutting-edge research into viable businesses, awarded £50,000 and £20,000 to two outstanding ventures set to disrupt industries with their graphene and 2D material-based technologies.

The grand final, held on March 11 2025, saw finalists pitch their groundbreaking ideas to an expert panel at Alliance Manchester Business School. The event culminated in a hybrid awards ceremony at the Enterprise Zone, with a global audience tuning in via livestream. Keynotes from Aurore Hochard, Director of MEC, and Luke Georghiou, Deputy President and Deputy Vice-Chancellor, highlighted the University’s commitment to turning research into real-world solutions. A fireside chat with last year’s winners, Solar Ethos, provided valuable insights for the next generation of graphene entrepreneurs.

The panel featured distinguished leaders in entrepreneurship and graphene innovation at The University of Manchester. The group included Aurore Hochard, James Baker (CEO of Graphene@Manchester), Professor Luke Georghiou, Dr. Ania Jolly (Henry Royce Institute), Professor Aravind Vijayaraghavan (founder of Grafine Ltd.), and Dr. Vivek Koncherry (CEO of Graphene Innovations Manchester). Their expertise ensured a rigorous selection process, identifying businesses with the strongest potential for commercial success.

The four finalists for this year showcased diverse and innovative applications of graphene and 2D materials. 

• Patrick Johansen Sarsfield from the School of Natural Sciences is developing Graphene Thermal - a company creating efficient graphene heated floor panels that reach target temperatures rapidly while using 50% less power than competitors.
• Jorge Servert from the School of Biological Sciences leads Sensium, which is revolutionising molecular diagnostics. Their technology achieves 90-95% accuracy in detecting various conditions, including infections and STIs, in under 5 minutes at just $1 per test.
• Mohammadhossein Saberian from the School of Natural Sciences heads Metamorph Materials, which transforms biomass into carbon-negative graphite for lithium-ion batteries, offering a sustainable alternative that enhances battery performance for EVs and electronics.
• Rui Zhang from the School of Natural Sciences presents Graphene Vision, developing next-generation in-situ cells that enhance materials characterisation systems. Their cost-effective solution enables real-time atomic-level imaging, accelerating research in various fields including catalysis and biomaterials.

The £50,000 first prize was awarded to Jorge A. Servert of Sensium (School of Biological Sciences), who combines expertise from diagnostics with his PhD in Biophysics. Jorge was also part of MEC’s Researcher to Innovator (R2I) programme where he received support in delivering impact with his research. 

The £20,000 second prize went to Patrick Johansen Sarsfield of Graphene Thermal with co-founder Daniel Mills, aircraft engineer at General Aero Services. Patrick is currently doing his PhD in the Theory of Electronic Properties of Graphene. We also extend recognition to finalists Mohammadhossein Saberian (School of Natural Sciences) of Metamorph Materials, and Rui Zhang (School of Natural Sciences) of Graphene Vision. Rui was part of MEC’s Researcher to Innovator (R2I) programme where he received support in delivering impact with his research.

We congratulate all participants on their outstanding achievements. Their innovations hold tremendous potential for commercial impact, from sustainable materials to next-generation electronics. By supporting these enterprising individuals, The University of Manchester is not only fostering personal success but also driving forward solutions to global challenges.

“To everyone, the journey continues and it's all about resilience” - Aurore Hochard, Director of the Masood Entrepreneurship Centre.

The chances of a dental appointment resulting in an antibiotic prescription increased dramatically during the pandemic, and new research led by Dr Wendy Thompson from The University of Manchester shows prescribing levels across each of the UK’s four nations have been slow to return to where they would have been if the pandemic hadn’t happened.

Though the Government has begun commissioning 700,000 urgent appointments, the British Dental Association says the total unmet need is far higher.

Dr Thompson also leads on antimicrobial stewardship for the College of General Dentistry and chairs the FDI World Dental Federation's Preventing Antimicrobial Resistance (AMR) and Infections task team.

She said: “Too many people have been unable to access urgent dental treatment for toothache, and have ended up with antibiotics. The best way to protect us all from the existential threat of antibiotic resistance is to ensure patients have timely access to urgent care.

“Even before the COVID-19 pandemic, we knew that dentistry was responsible for around 10% of antibiotic prescriptions and that rates of unnecessary use were high. During the early part of the COVID-19 pandemic, the amount of antibiotic prescribing by NHS dentists increased dramatically.

“Our research has shown how frustrated dentists were at this situation which UK Health Security Agency researchers have linked to the use of teledentistry, where care is given remotely. Our latest research shows just how slowly antibiotic prescribing in NHS dentistry is returning to its pre-pandemic pattern.

“Antibiotics don't cure toothache although our research shows that many people wrongly believe they are necessary. Unnecessary use puts patients and the public at risk from the spread of infections which don't respond to antibiotics. The quickest fix for toothache and dental infections is generally a procedure rather than a prescription, although sometimes antibiotics are vital. And our research found that appointments where dentists provide procedures take more time than just giving antibiotics.”

“That is why FDI World Dental Federation argues that universal access to the right oral health care at the right time to prevent and treat toothache and dental infection should be an essential part of national efforts to tackle antimicrobial resistance by reducing the unnecessary use of antibiotics.”

She added: “Routine monitoring of antibiotic prescribing by dentists providing care to NHS patients is key, but until prescribing by dentists is digitised, this will be impossible. Integrating high-street dentistry into NHS digital systems will be an important part of national efforts to help keep patients safe by ensuring antibiotics are only prescribed when strictly necessary.”

Innovative approach to spintronics

Spin transport electronics, or spintronics, represents a revolutionary alternative to traditional electronics by utilising the spin of electrons rather than their charge to transfer and store information. This method promises energy-efficient and high-speed solutions that exceed the limitations of classical computation, for next generation classical and quantum computation.

The Manchester team, led by Dr Ivan Vera-Marun, has fully encapsulated monolayer graphene in hexagonal boron nitride, an insulating and atomically flat 2D material, to protect its high quality. By engineering the 2D material stack to expose only the edges of graphene, and laying magnetic nanowire electrodes over the stack, they successfully form one-dimensional (1D) contacts.

Quantum behaviour and ballistic transport

The study explores the injection process via these 1D contacts at low temperatures (20 K), revealing that electron transport across the interface is quantum in nature. The contacts act as quantum point contacts (QPCs), commonly used in quantum nanotechnology and metrology.

First author of the paper, Dr Daniel Burrow, said “this quantum behaviour is evidenced by the measurement of quantised conductance through the contacts, indicating that the energy spectrum of electrons transforms into discrete energy subbands upon injection. By adjusting the electron density in the graphene and applying a magnetic field, we visualised these subbands and explored their connection with spin transport.”  

These QPCs, formed by using magnetic nanowires, avoid the need to engineer a physical constriction within the graphene channel, which makes their implementation more practical than previous approaches.

Implications for quantum nanotechnology

The state-of-the-art device architecture developed by the Manchester team offers a straightforward method for creating tuneable QPCs in graphene, overcoming fabrication challenges associated with other methods. The magnetic nature of the nanoscale contacts enables quantised spin injection, paving the way for energy-efficient devices in spin-based quantum nanotechnology.

Furthermore, the demonstration of ballistic spin injection presents an encouraging step towards the development of low-power ballistic spintronics. Future research efforts will focus on enhancing spin transport in graphene by leveraging the quantum nature of injection via the QPCs.

This research is part of the Horizon Europe Project "2D Heterostructure Non-volatile Spin Memory Technology" (2DSPIN-TECH), supported by a UKRI grant.

We’re home to 700 materials experts, revolutionising industries by developing advanced materials that unlock new levels of performance, efficiency, and sustainability. Supported by the £885m campus investment over the last 10 years, our researchers are at the forefront of materials innovation, creating game-changing solutions. From healthcare to manufacturing, we’re tackling global challenges and ensuring the UK's reputation as a technology ‘super power'. Find out more about our advanced materials research.

The National Graphene Institute (NGI) is a world-leading graphene and 2D material centre, focussed on fundamental research. Based at The University of Manchester, where graphene was first isolated in 2004 by Professors Sir Andre Geim and Sir Kostya Novoselov, it is home to leaders in their field – a community of research specialists delivering transformative discovery. This expertise is matched by £13m leading-edge facilities, such as the largest class 5 and 6 cleanrooms in global academia, which gives the NGI the capabilities to advance underpinning industrial applications in key areas including: composites, functional membranes, energy, membranes for green hydrogen, ultra-high vacuum 2D materials, nanomedicine, 2D based printed electronics, and characterisation.

Announced today, the research programme aims to address the challenges of plastic waste in healthcare settings by exploring the relationship between social practice, material selection, reuse, and recycling while maintaining high-quality clinical outcomes. In response to complex sustainability challenges in the sector, the work will explore circular pathways, identify barriers and unintended consequences, and unlock opportunities to minimise the environmental impacts of materials in healthcare settings.

The three-year partnership brings together two organisations striving for authentic environmental sustainability, backed by innovative research and real-world practice. The collaboration is co-funded by an EPSRC Prosperity Partnership award, UKRI’s flagship co-investing programme building business and academic research collaboration.

Professor Mike Shaver, Director of Sustainable Futures and academic lead for the new partnership said: “We are thrilled by the opportunity to work with Bupa on this ambitious new project, extending our systemic understanding of plastics, waste management, social practice and environmental impacts to reshape material provision in healthcare. These collaborations are essential to translating our research efforts into real world impact.”

A key challenge for a sustainable future is the way we use and dispose of materials. Over 60% of countries have implemented bans or taxes on household waste, particularly plastics, yet healthcare is much more complex. The sector’s reliance on single-use items (SUIs) for infection control, consistency, and cost efficiency has led to significant environmental and health challenges, with SUIs contributing to carbon emissions, waste, and plastic pollution.

The crucial new interdisciplinary collaboration will tackle four key urgent areas:

• Understanding social practice in medical practices - Understand the interconnectedness between social practice and material selection, use, segregation and disposal.
• Reuse and sterility - Understand the relationship between material selection, sterilisation and reuse to improve environmental sustainability
• Mechanical and chemical recycling - Establish high volume clinical waste streams to create value in mechanical recycling and chemical depolymerization.
• Environmental sustainability assessment - Quantify environmental impacts and develop materials hierarchies in the provision of healthcare.

Anna Russell, Director of Sustainability and Corporate Responsibility, Bupa, said: “This partnership with The University of Manchester is groundbreaking for our sector. Tackling healthcare’s environmental challenges requires bold thinking and collaboration, and this partnership is a fantastic opportunity to lead the way in creating sustainable, industry-wide solutions. By combining cutting-edge research with Bupa’s real-world expertise, we can drive meaningful change that reduces the healthcare sector’s impact on the planet while maintaining the highest clinical standards. This is a vital step forward in our journey to help create a greener, healthier future.”

This new partnership has been recognised by the Engineering & Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) for bringing together The University of Manchester’s interdisciplinary collaborative researchers and knowledge-base, with data from and access to more than 500 Bupa dental practices, clinics, care homes and The Cromwell Hospital. The necessity of tackling these challenges was highlighted by The University’s Sustainable Futures research platform and Bupa. These are challenges which can only be tackled by marrying academia and industry.

This new collaboration was kick-started by Unit M, The University of Manchester’s recently announced innovation capability tasked with supercharging the region’s innovation ecosystem. Unit M is now live and actively engaging with entrepreneurs, investors, and changemakers eager to shape the future of the region.

Professor Lou Cordwell, CEO of Unit M said: “Ahead of the formal launch of Unit M, the founding leadership team has been working to develop this partnership with Bupa to highlight the benefits of organisations engaging with Unit M to drive real-world impact and innovation. The collaboration has taken shape over the past two years to establish a long term, University wide innovation partnership.”

The new collaboration builds on the shared commitment of both the University and Bupa to the region. Last month, The University of Manchester reaffirmed its status as a global leader in sustainability by retaining its position in the top 10 worldwide in the 2025 QS World University Sustainability Rankings. Meanwhile, Bupa was one of the first healthcare companies to set science-based CO2 reduction targets and an ambitious 2040 net zero pathway.

Find out more about Unit M:

 

Just like the proteins in our muscles, which convert chemical energy into power to allow us to perform daily tasks, these tiny rotary motors use chemical energy to generate force, store energy, and perform tasks in a similar way.

The finding, from The University of Manchester and the University of Strasbourg, published in the journal Nature, provides new insights into the fundamental processes that drive life at the molecular level and could open doors for applications in medicine, energy storage, and nanotechnology.

The artificial rotary motors are incredibly tiny—much smaller than a strand of human hair. They are embedded into polymer chains of a synthetic gel and when fuelled, they work like miniature car engines, converting the fuel into waste products, while using the energy to rotate the motor.

The rotation twists the gel’s molecular chains, causing the gel to shrink, storing the energy, much like winding like an elastic band. The stored energy can then be released to perform tasks.

So far, the scientists have demonstrated the motor’s ability to open and close micron-sized holes and speed up chemical reactions.

Professor Leigh added: “Mimicking the chemical energy-powered systems found in nature not only helps our understanding of life but could open the door to revolutionary advances in medicine, energy and nanotechnology.”

Formed to challenge and disrupt the global conveyor belt market, Ecobelt Ltd is an environmentally ambitious company that champions environmental sustainability and fosters a circular life-cycle approach for belting use.

In the UK alone, 4,000 tonnes of conveyor belts are incinerated or sent to landfill every week.

The ‘Sustainable Materials Innovation for Net-zero’ award recognises Ecobelt’s patented innovative belt splice technology to address the main cause of belt failure. The technology extends belt lifespan from months to years, therefore improving the upstream sustainability by reducing the demand for new belts.

Through partnership and collaboration with The University of Manchester—supported by its UKRI Impact Acceleration Account and the Sustainable Materials Innovation Hub at the Henry Royce Institute—Ecobelt tested the performance of their technology to develop an approach to repair damaged conveyor belts, employing a whole life-cycle environmental impact approach.

The judges from the Institute of Materials, Minerals & Mining commended Ecobelt’s technology, citing the robust research base and collaboration with partners as key indicators to Ecobelt’s commitment to environmental sustainability.

Conveyor belts service virtually all consumer products, production and manufacturing facilities globally, driving a market valued at $6 billion (USD) annually, fuelled by e-commerce and industry 4.0.

Despite this, the industry has been remarkably stagnant in relation to innovation, sustainability and the manufacturing process of materials used in conveyor belts. As conveyor belts are fossil fuel based, manufacturing consumes huge natural resources whilst producing significant Greenhouse Gases – an issue that Ecobelt seeks to change.

Whilst Ecobelt’s next steps for commercial scale up are still unfolding, the technology’s potential for lasting impact in the industrial settings are clear.

Professor Michael Shaver, Director of the Sustainable Materials Innovation Hub said: “Our world is driven – both literally and figuratively – by conveyor belts. Yet we don’t think of them as essential in championing Manchester as a sustainable city.

“Our eyes have been opened by this hidden gem of a local business: Ecobelt have tackled an invisible material flow that is essential to keeping our manufacturing and delivery systems moving by improving material repair, reuse and circularity. It has been a privilege to work on assessing the AnnStuMax technology and quantifying its impressive environmental credentials.”

The study, led by scientists at The University of Manchester, has revealed that a material known as a metal-organic framework (MOF) - an ultra-porous material - can be modified to capture and filter out significantly more benzene from the atmosphere than current materials in use.

Benzene is primarily used as an industrial solvent and in the production of various chemicals, plastics, and synthetic fibres, but can also be released into the atmosphere through petrol stations, exhaust fumes and cigarette smoke. Despite its widespread applications, benzene is classified as a human carcinogen, and exposure can lead to serious health effects, making careful management and regulation essential.

The research, published in the journal Nature Materials today, could lead to significant improvements in air quality both indoors and outdoors.

MOFs are advanced materials that combine metal centres and organic molecules to create porous structures. They have a highly adjustable internal structure, making them particularly promising for filtering out harmful gases from the air.

The researchers modified the MOF structure – known as MIL-125 – by incorporating single atoms from different elements, including zinc, iron, cobalt, nickel and copper to test which would most effectively capture benzene.

They discovered that adding a single zinc atom to the structure significantly enhanced the material’s efficiency, enabling it to capture benzene even at ultra-low concentrations – measured at parts per million (ppm) – a significant improvement over current materials.

The new material – now known as MIL-125-Zn – demonstrates a benzene uptake of 7.63 mmol per gram of material, which is significantly higher than previously reported materials.

It is also highly stable even when exposed to moisture, maintaining its ability to filter benzene for long periods without losing effectiveness. Tests show that it can continue removing benzene from air even under humid conditions.

As the research progresses, the team will look to collaborate with industry partners to develop this and related new materials, with the potential of integrating it into ready-made devices, such as air purification systems in homes, workplaces, and industrial settings.

Plastics play a crucial role in healthcare, but the current linear model of using and then incinerating leads to significant waste and environmental harm. Through a Knowledge Transfer Partnership (KTP), materials experts at Manchester will work in collaboration with Vernacare – specialist manufacturers of infection prevention solutions – to investigate how the sustainability of plastics can be improved through the creation of more circular products from waste polypropylene (PP) and polycarbonate (PC).  

A 24-month project, led by an interdisciplinary team from The University of Manchester and Vernacare, aims to create new insight into the behaviour of real-world polypropylene and polycarbonate products during mechanical recycling. The team will be led by experts including Dr Tom McDonald, Dr Rosa Cuellar Franca, Professor Mike Shaver, Simon Hogg, and Dr Amir Bolouri. It also will advance knowledge on the selection, characterisation and use of plastic to optimise recyclability, while developing understanding of the complex environmental impacts of product design and supply chain. 

Finally, life cycle assessment will be used to evaluate the sustainability for different approaches to the circularity of these plastics. This project will involve the knowledge transfer of the academic team’s expertise in plastics recycling, plastics circularity and rigorous life cycle assessment. 

Alex Hodges, CEO of Vernacare, explained: “Through this project we aim to change how plastics are viewed and used in healthcare. Our work with Manchester will ensure we’re at the forefront in sustainable single use healthcare product research. It will enable us to embed product lifecycle, environment assessment capability and materials research and development into our business culture so that we’re in pole position, able to lead the market in the development and testing of future solutions. It will also help Vernacare economically, by offsetting a portion of our £7m annual polypropylene costs while also broadening their appeal to eco-conscious customers.” 

The research will be conducted through the Sustainable Materials Innovation Hub  (SMI Hub), a cutting-edge facility dedicated to sustainable plastic solutions. The SMI Hub is part of the Henry Royce Institute at The University of Manchester and is partly funded by the European Regional Development Fund.                                                                                           

Innovate UK’s Knowledge Transfer Partnerships  funding support innovation by matching businesses with world-leading research and technology. Projects are focused on delivering a strategic step change in productivity, market share and operating process by embedding new knowledge and capabilities within an organisation. Delivered through the Knowledge Exchange Partnerships team, part of Business Engagement and Knowledge Exchange, The University of Manchester has collaborated on more than 300 KTPs and in the last five years alone, has supported 42 KTPs with a total research value of £11 million. 

By working together, The University of Manchester and Vernacare aim to lead the way in sustainable healthcare products, ensuring a healthier planet for future generations. 

Alzheimer's is marked by a loss of brain cells, whereas glioblastoma is responsible for rapid cell growth. The unexpected relationship between the two, known as ‘inverse comorbidity’, suggests that there might be a deeper biological connection we don’t yet understand. If we could work out what that connection is, we might be able to design vital new treatments. 

Now, a Manchester team are on a mission to discover the answer and make a positive difference, through what they’ve called the NanoNeuroOmics Project. 
 

The challenge they face 

Both Alzheimer's disease and glioblastoma are often quite well-advanced in a person, by the time they’re diagnosed. The current methods we use for this, such as PET or MRI scans, still aren’t very effective at early detection. What we really need are simple blood tests that can spot changes early on. 

In both conditions, the blood-brain barrier (which normally protects our brain), becomes more permeable – meaning it’s possible to detect disease-related molecules in the blood. This could in turn help us to identify people who were more at risk, and to monitor responses to different types of treatment. 

However, it won’t be easy. In current blood tests, when we’re looking for certain proteins – key indicators of disease – they’re often drowned out by a range of other proteins. Developing a way to spot those blood-based ‘biomarkers’ for brain health, which can easily be used in clinical practice, would be a key next step. 

How Manchester innovation could make a difference 

By merging expertise in nanotechnology, protein analysis, and blood biomarker discovery, the NanoOmics lab are aiming to: 

1. Identify new blood proteins(biomarkers) that could help in the early diagnosis and monitoring of the Alzheimer's and glioblastoma. 
2. To understand more about the link that Alzheimer's and glioblastoma share. 

The NanoOmics lab is looking to identify these unique biomarkers by tracking protein changes in blood and the brain over time, and across different stages of both diseases. They will use nanotechnology to detect these 'protein markers,' employing nanoparticles to isolate them from the multitude of other molecules present in the blood. With their ‘Nanoomics’ technology, these nanoparticles capture disease-related molecules, acting almost like tiny ’fishing nets’. Using this approach, the team can filter out a huge number of other proteins that are currently getting in the way. In turn, by analysing what they’ve captured, our researchers are aiming to identify new biomarkers that are currently undetectable by state-of-the art protein analysis approaches. 

Hope for the future 

To achieve this, Group Leader Dr Marilena Hadjidemetriou and her NanoOmics team have been combining long-term studies in lab models, with validation studies using biofluids obtained from human patients. 

The aim isn’t only to search for new blood biomarkers, but to gain further insight into how neurological conditions work, so that we can connect changes we see in our blood with changes that can happen in our brain. 

Their approach is multidisciplinary, working with experts across both nanotechnology and omics sciences, to improve early disease detection and hopefully develop personalised treatment for future patients. 

NanoNeuroOmics represents a significant step forward in the quest to understand, detect and treat complex neurological diseases. 

About Dr Marilena Hadjidemetriou 

Dr Hadjidemetriou is the NanoOmics Group Leader, and a Lecturer in Nanomedicine in Manchester’s School of Biological Sciences. 

She joined the Nanomedicine Lab at the University of Manchester as a Marie Curie Early-Stage Fellow and full-time PhD student, working on the development of the nanoparticle protein corona as a tool for cancer diagnostics. 

After her PhD, Dr Hadjidemetriou was granted a postdoctoral fellowship by the Medical Research Council, to focus on the discovery of novel biomarkers in Alzheimer’s disease. She was also awarded a Manchester Molecular Pathology Innovation Centre Pump Priming Grant and the CRUK Pioneer Award, to work on the nanoparticle-enabled discovery of blood biomarkers for a variety of pathologies. 

Now leading the NanoOmics lab Dr Hadjidemetriou is aiming to develop nanotechnology platforms that explore disease pathways and uncover molecular biomarkers. 

Dr Hadjidemetriou’s recent research includes: 

• In vivo biomolecule corona and the transformation of a foe into an ally for nanomedicine 
• Nano-omics: nanotechnology-based multidimensional harvesting of the blood-circulating cancerome 
• Nanoparticle-Enabled Enrichment of Longitudinal Blood Proteomic Fingerprints in Alzheimer's Disease 
• Nanoscavengers for blood biomarker discovery in ovarian carcinoma 

To discuss this research, contact Dr Marilena Hadjidemetriou at marilena.hadjidemetriou@manchester.ac.uk 
 

Paint - an economically and environmentally critical material 

In the UK, over 10,000 people work in the coatings industry, which contributes over £11 billion to the economy, and supports the manufacturing and construction sectors worth around £150 billion. 

Corrosion damage costs the UK 2-3% of its Gross National Product each year (about £60 billion in 2016). Protective coatings like paints help prevent corrosion but are complex to formulate, meaning new product developments is slow. 

With a growing demand for sustainable materials that extend the lifespan of infrastructure like wind turbines, it's crucial to understand how these coatings work to get new, better performing and more sustainable products to market. 

Manchester’s corrosion research expertise 

AkzoNobel and The University of Manchester are collaborating to address this through their research. 

Claudio Di Lullo, Manager of AkzoNobel’s Substrate Protection Expertise Centre, explains: “About 12 years ago, we set up a partnership with The University of Manchester because we recognise that corrosion is one of the big challenges we have to face. We make paint, we develop paint. We understand the practical applications and what’s needed to make it perform. 

“What the University brings is the ability to characterise, analyse and understand some of the mechanisms. They can do deeper science that’s an essential part of understanding what’s going on. We get fresh insights that will help us to develop the next generation of paint.” 

Understanding the fundamentals of how paint works

Building on this partnership, Manchester and AzkoNobel developed ‘Sustainable Coatings by Rational Design’ (SusCoRD), a five-year interdisciplinary EPSRC Prosperity Partnership, that brings together a critical mass of expertise – spanning academic knowledge from the universities of Manchester, Sheffield, and Liverpool capabilities – to understand how paint works.

In an industry-first, the partnership looked to match a detailed scientific understanding of the mechanisms of coatings failure with state-of-the-art machine learning. The aim was to deliver a framework for developing more sustainable protective coatings and nanocomposite materials using digital design. This would help enable industry to replace the current trial-and-error and test new, sustainable materials, accelerating the formulation of new products.

Uniting corrosion science with machine learning

Working across four specific workstreams, the teams drove discoveries across two main areas: 
analysis characterisation of coatings in the substrate, the polymer and interfaces; and digital technology, specifically predictive approaches, modelling and simulation, with the aim to ultimately producing digital twins.

Manchester led on corrosion protection, with Sheffield and Liverpool focusing on polymer interface and machine learning, respectively. Their work focuses on:

1. Predictive Design and Testing: By undertaking a review of AkzoNobel’s historic corrosion test data, researchers were able to find the best formulations for corrosion protection. Applying machine learning models, they were then able predict and optimise these formulations, creating models that could successfully identify new, effective combinations. To support this, complementary tools were developed to automatically interpret electrochemical data, improving accuracy and efficiency. 
2. Polymers and interfaces: The team studied how small molecules like water and solvents interact with polymer surfaces with Manchester leading on advanced microscopy, to explore how polymers and metals bond. Key results included the discovery that that metal-polymer binding has a much larger influence in measurements than previously thought – a critical insight in the drive to create more high-performance, eco-friendly high solid and water-borne coating systems. 
3. Coatings and substrates: Using a combination of analytical electron microscopy and X-Ray CT, researchers were able to characterise the microstructural evolution in polyester powder coating, revealing different stages in the degradation process. By identifying and mitigating microstructural weak points, finding ways to control microstructure – which previously reduced the efficacy of coatings –, and by understanding the key properties affecting performance, the researchers have advanced insight to inform the way durable coatings are formulated. 
4. Simulation and modelling: . By creating and studying digital models, the team was able to interrogate experimental results and test hypothesis when physical experiments were unable to provide relevant information. These models created ranged from atomic-level analsyis of the polymer/substrate interface, to understanding how a flaw in the coating impacts an electrochemical cell. 

Creating the sustainable paints of the future

The findings of the five-year project can now be used to inform higher-technology readiness level research, which in turn will help unlock ways to making more sustainable paint.

Claudio Di Lullo explains: “At AkzoNobel, we recognise our paint has a carbon footprint contribution and we've set the ambitious target in 2030 of having a 50% reduction in the carbon footprint across the whole value chain.

“The potential impacts of this project, for us as a company are to produce new generation products that perform better and are more sustainable, and for us to do it quicker. Machine learning gives us the angle to accelerate our new product development.”

Professor Stuart Lyon, from The University of Manchester adds: “There are two aspects of sustainability. The manufacture of the paint needs to be sustainable, but also its materials need to be sustainable. And that essentially means making it last longer, so we don’t have to repaint assets like wind turbines, mid-life, which is hugely expensive.

“The work we’ve done so far has involved using all these analytical tools to explore the science behind how paint works and to create opportunities to make paints differently. The next stage is to use that information to develop tools that make paint in different ways, using different materials, which are perhaps more sustainable – which last longer, which create assets that have a much greater lifetime.”

For more information visit the SuSCoRD project site

To discuss this project further, or to explore future collaboration contact Xiaorong Zhou, Professor of Corrosion Science and Engineering or Dr Jane Deakin, SusCoRD project manager.

Related papers: 

• Exploring the use of machine learning for interpreting electrochemical impedance spectroscopy data: evaluation of the training dataset size. 
• Evaluating organic coating performance by EIS: Correlation between long‐term EIS measurements and corrosion of the metal substrate. 
• Manipulating transport paths of inhibitor pigments in organic coating by addition of other pigments. 
• The influence of mechanical grinding on the microstructure and corrosion behaviour of A356 aluminium alloys. 
• Segregation in epoxy/amine systems on iron oxide surfaces. 
• The effect of cross-linker structure on interfacial interactions, polymer dynamics and network composition in an epoxy-amine resin.

Prosperity Partnerships 
Prosperity Partnerships are collaborative research programmes funded jointly by businesses and the UK government through the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) and other UKRI councils. 
Prosperity Partnerships are an opportunity for businesses and their existing academic partners to co-create and co-deliver a business-led programme of research activity arising from a clear industrial need. 
To explore a Prosperity Partnership with Manchester, contact our Business Engagement team at collaborate@manchester.ac.uk

A leading nanomedicine researcher at The University of Manchester has secured a €1.5m (£1.3m) European Research Council (ERC) Starting Grant to push forward pioneering research on Alzheimer’s disease and glioblastoma.

The five-year project, NanoNeuroOmics, aims to combine breakthroughs in nanotechnology, protein analysis, and blood biomarker discovery to make advances in two key areas.

First, the team led by Dr. Marilena Hadjidemetriou will explore the use of nanoparticles to enrich and isolate brain-disease specific protein biomarkers in blood. These discoveries could pave the way for simple, reliable blood tests that diagnose Alzheimer’s and glioblastoma in their early stages.

Second, the research will investigate the phenomenon of “inverse comorbidity,” which suggests that having one of these conditions may reduce the risk of developing the other. Dr. Hadjidemetriou and her team will explore this surprising relationship to uncover any deeper biological connection that could lead to new treatment pathways.

Building on her 2021 research, where Dr. Hadjidemetriou developed a nanoparticle-enabled technology to detect early signs of neurodegeneration in blood, this project has the potential to transform how these brain diseases are diagnosed and treated.

Dr. Hadjidemetriou’s previous work involved using nano-sized particles, known as liposomes, to "fish" disease-specific proteins from the blood. This breakthrough enabled her team to discover proteins directly linked to neurodegeneration processes in the brain, among thousands of other blood-circulating molecules. In animal models of Alzheimer’s, this nano-tool successfully captured hundreds of neurodegeneration-associated proteins. Once retrieved from the bloodstream, the molecular signatures on the surface of these proteins were analysed, offering a clearer picture of the disease at a molecular level.

Now, Dr. Hadjidemetriou's team will evolve this expertise to identify highly specific biomarkers by tracking protein changes in both blood and brain over time and across different stages of Alzheimer's and glioblastoma. By working with different nanomaterials, they hope to isolate these key protein markers from the complex mix of molecules in the blood.

The  NanoNeuroOmics project’s multidisciplinary approach brings together experts in nanotechnology and omics sciences to develop methods for detecting and potentially treating these diseases with greater precision. Research will be conducted at The University of Manchester’s Centre for Nanotechnology in Medicine, a cutting-edge facility dedicated to advancing nanoscale technologies. The Centre's focus spans multiple fields, including omics, neurology, therapeutics, and materials science.

Dr. Hadjidemetriou’s team is also part of Manchester’s vibrant 2D materials science community, home to the discovery of graphene 20 years ago, continuing the university’s legacy of scientific innovation.

Lithium-ion batteries, which power everything from smartphones and laptops to electric vehicles, store energy through a process known as ion intercalation. This involves lithium ions slipping between layers of graphite - a material traditionally used in battery anodes, when a battery is charged. The more lithium ions that can be inserted and later extracted, the more energy the battery can store and release. While this process is well-known, the microscopic details have remained unclear. The Manchester team’s discovery sheds new light on these details by focusing on bilayer graphene, the smallest possible battery anode material, consisting of just two atomic layers of carbon.

In their experiments, the researchers replaced the typical graphite anode with bilayer graphene and observed the behaviour of lithium ions during the intercalation process. Surprisingly, they found that lithium ions do not intercalate between the two layers all at once or in a random fashion. Instead, the process unfolds in four distinct stages, with lithium ions arranging themselves in an orderly manner at each stage. Each stage involves the formation of increasingly dense hexagonal lattices of lithium ions.

Professor Irina Grigorieva, who led the research team, commented, "the discovery of 'in-plane staging' was completely unexpected. It revealed a much greater level of cooperation between the lattice of lithium ions and the crystal lattice of graphene than previously thought. This understanding of the intercalation process at the atomic level opens up new avenues for optimising lithium-ion batteries and possibly exploring new materials for enhanced energy storage."

The study also revealed that bilayer graphene, while offering new insights, has a lower lithium storage capacity compared to traditional graphite. This is due to a less effective screening of interactions between positively charged lithium ions, leading to stronger repulsion and causing the ions to remain further apart. While this suggests that bilayer graphene may not offer higher storage capacity than bulk graphite, the discovery of its unique intercalation process is a key step forward. It also hints at the potential use of atomically thin metals to enhance the screening effect and possibly improve storage capacity in the future.

This pioneering research not only deepens our understanding of lithium-ion intercalation but also lays the groundwork for the development of more efficient and sustainable energy storage solutions. As the demand for better batteries continues to grow, the findings in this research could play a key role in shaping the next generation of energy storage technologies.

The National Graphene Institute (NGI) is a world-leading graphene and 2D material centre, focussed on fundamental research. Based at The University of Manchester, where graphene was first isolated in 2004 by Professors Sir Andre Geim and Sir Kostya Novoselov, it is home to leaders in their field – a community of research specialists delivering transformative discovery. This expertise is matched by £13m leading-edge facilities, such as the largest class 5 and 6 cleanrooms in global academia, which gives the NGI the capabilities to advance underpinning industrial applications in key areas including: composites, functional membranes, energy, membranes for green hydrogen, ultra-high vacuum 2D materials, nanomedicine, 2D based printed electronics, and characterisation.

Upon his visit to India, Foreign Secretary David Lammy met Prime Minister Narendra Modi and both governments committed to developing collaboration between The University of Manchester National Graphene Institute, the University of Cambridge Graphene Centre and the Indian Institute for Science Bengaluru Centre for Nano Science & Engineering on advanced (two-dimensional) 2D and atomically thin materials and nanotechnology.

The TSI will focus on boosting economic growth in both countries and tackling issues such as telecoms security and semiconductor supply chain resilience. For the University specifically, the collaboration will scope joint research ventures, facilitate student and start-up exchanges, and open access to world-leading laboratories and prototyping facilities.

The University of Manchester is already collaborating with a number of established partners in India, which has resulted in joint PhD programmes with the Indian Institute of Technology Kharagpur and the Indian Institute of Science, Bengaluru, which include a number of projects on 2D materials. The University is already immersed in the fields of Critical Minerals and Artificial Intelligence highlighted in the TSI, and hosted a UK-India Critical Minerals workshop in November 2023.

Lindy Cameron, British High Commissioner to India, said: “The UK-India Technology Security Initiative will help shape the significant science and technology capabilities of both countries to deliver greater security, growth and wellbeing for our citizens. We are delighted to have The University of Manchester play a key part in this, particularly in our collaboration on advanced materials and critical minerals.”

This year The University of Manchester is celebrating its bicentenary and it recently hosted a gala celebration in India at the Taj Lands End hotel Mumbai, attended by over 200 Indian alumni and representatives from our current and prospective partner organisations in the country. The University has also awarded honorary degrees to eminent Indian academic and industrial leaders including Professor C.N.R Rao and Mr Ratan Tata.

Advanced Materials is one of The University of Manchester’s research beacons, and the institution has a long history of innovation in this space. In 2004, the extraction of graphene from graphite was achieved by two University of Manchester researchers, Professor Andre Geim and Professor Kostya Novoselov, with their pioneering work recognised with the Nobel Prize in Physics in 2010.

Entitled ‘Manchester Model: Industry led, academic fed’, the event brought to life how Graphene@Manchester’s ecosystem supports partners in leveraging the capabilities of 2D materials – from 2D material research tailored to organisation’s application needs, to accelerating their real-world translation. 

Professor James Baker, CEO of Graphene@Manchester explains: “We offer something unique in UK academia: a comprehensive pipeline for scaling up, supporting industry through technology readiness levels 1 to 7. This is possible due to three key strengths: our world-leading community of research and innovation experts, our state-of-the-art facilities, and our lab-to-market expertise, where we can support industry in developing products with improved performance and reduced environmental impact. 

"Our University is at the forefront of the 2D materials revolution and serves as the UK's principal knowledge partner for the commercialisation of 2D materials. Today's event aimed to showcase our exceptional capabilities to a new industry audience, enabling them to benefit from our unparalleled offerings." 

Over the course of the two days, attendees met academics – including Professor Sir Kostya Novoselov, the Nobel Prize winning scientist who isolated graphene in 2004 with Professor Sir Andre Geim – and application experts leading cutting-edge research from lab to market; toured Manchester’s world-leading facilities, National Graphene Institute (NGI) and the Graphene Engineering Innovation Centre (GEIC); met companies who have already benefited from their partnership with Manchester; and were shown how the University is training a new generation of 2D materials experts.  

They were also invited to the Eli and Britt Harari Graphene Enterprise Award presentation. This annual award, in association with Nobel Laureate Professor Sir Andre Geim, is gifted to help the implementation of commercially-viable business proposals from our students, post-doctoral researchers and recent graduates. 

‘Manchester Model: Industry led, academic fed’ was hosted in the run up to the official 20^th anniversary of the first graphene paper. It recognised the University’s continued role in driving a fast-growing graphene economy.  

The University of Manchester is home to the highest-density graphene and 2D material research and innovation community in the world, comprising more than 350 experts spanning various disciplines, including physics, materials science, chemistry, neuroscience. This community includes academics, engineers and application experts, who bridge the gap between academia and the real-world needs of businesses, and innovation leaders, investment experts, IP advisors, plus operational and specialist technical staff.  

Renowned for rapidly advancing Technology Readiness Levels (TRL), this community is centred around two specialist facilities: the £62m academic-led NGI; and the multi-million pound research translation centre, the GEIC.  

The NGI is the hub for groundbreaking 2D material research, featuring 150m² of class five and six cleanrooms. It is home to Nobel Prize-winning Professor Sir Andre Geim, who, along with Professor Sir Kostya Novoselov, isolated graphene in 2004 and who continues to support a leading community of fundamental science researchers. 

The GEIC focuses on accelerating the development of lab-to-market innovations. In just five years, it has supported over 50 spin-outs and launched numerous new technologies, products, and applications in collaboration with industrial partners. These include a groundbreaking hydrogel for vertical farming and a method for extracting lithium from water for battery production. 

Read more about the event at the dedicated Industry academic showcase page. 

Visit Graphene@Manchester to contact Graphene@Manchester’s experts and discover the facilities available. 

High performing but costly 
LEAs - unlike traditional electronics, which are typically manufactured on small and rigid substrates like silicon wafers – are made on much larger, often flexible, substrates. This means electronic components can be integrated into different surfaces and materials. Examples of LEAs include: TV sets; mobile phone and tablet screens that can bend or roll (Samsung's Galaxy Fold and LG's flexible OLED displays are good examples); wearable electronics like smart clothing, fitness trackers, and health monitoring devices; printed solar cells; and interactive displays used in e-readers like the Amazon Kindle, which mimic the appearance of ink on paper. 

LAEs are an emerging field. However, their rapid growth brings challenges like the availability of essential materials, energy-efficient manufacturing, device performance, and product end-of-life solutions. One major challenge in producing LAEs is balancing the users’ desire for functionality with the need to reduce costs. To address this, LAEs are currently combined with silicon chips. However, while this supports functionality, it increases carbon emissions significantly. 

Rethinking manufacturing 
To tackle this issue, Thomas Anthopoulos with his team at The University of Manchester is undertaking fundamental research designed to rethink manufacturing methods. His goal is to look at the fundamental science and develop scalable and energy efficient techniques that can produce LAEs capable of seamlessly integrating with the existing electronics infrastructure, while enabling additional functionalities. 

Addressing manufacturing bottlenecks 
Building on previous research focused on LEAs, Professor Anthopoulos will look to advance LAEs by addressing crucial manufacturing bottlenecks such as the trade-off between high throughput production and high precision patterning. His approach comprises four research thrusts that aim to address these key aspects and include: 

1. Developing new patterning paradigms for scalable and sustainable production of LAEs. 
2. Demonstrating energy-efficient material growth methods. 
3. Exploring eco-friendly materials that are abundant. 
4. Demonstrate advanced LAEs that can interact with the existing electronic infrastructure. 

Maximising impact 
Delivering a paradigm shift in how LAEs with nanometre-size critical features are manufactured, is the core aim of this programme. By addressing the fundamental science, Professor Anthopoulos aims to deliver research that benefit the economy, academia, and society. 

For industry, the outcome of this research has the potential to empower UK companies. For example, the global LAEs market is expected to grow rapidly in the coming years. This prediction, however, relies on the technology being adopted successfully in various emerging areas. Thus, access to innovative technologies can help UK companies remain frontrunners and capture this market, benefiting everyone involved. 

In the academic world, Professor Anthopoulos’s approach will create new knowledge about sustainable electronics, encourage collaboration between different fields, advance sustainable electronics, train junior researchers, and attract top talent to the UK. 

The program will also benefit the public. Sustainable production of LAEs will enable new electronic functions with minimal environmental impact, while easing society’s reliance on polluting silicon chips. These innovative technologies will create new possibilities in personal health, education, entertainment, among other, positively impacting society. 

Professor Anthopoulos explains more about his approach. “I am interested in fundamental research that has potential for practical applications. I very much enjoying approaching a problem from a different viewpoint and pursuing cross-disciplinary research is a key element of it. Manchester has a rich history, with the isolation of graphene serving as a prime example of how a new perspective can lead to groundbreaking discoveries.” 

“I am also a firm believer in multidisciplinary collaboration; trying to increase the impact of my work by working with people with different expertise while learning new things. Manchester has a strong reputation in large-area electronics, including flexible and printed electronics, advanced functional materials, and manufacturing. Crucially, we are home to unique facilities like the National Graphene Institute (NGI), the Henry Royce Institute for Advanced Materials, and the Photon Science Institute, all located on campus, and all unique in the UK. Moreover, the university’s extensive partnerships with industry leaders offer additional opportunities for further collaborations, networking, and potential commercialization of promising research findings.

“Last but not least, the university has a global reputation in climate change, sustainability, and energy policy. This makes Manchester the ideal place for my research, which at its very heart is aimed at making electronics of the future more sustainable and valuable to our society.” 

About Thomas Anthopoulos 
Thomas Anthopoulos is Professor of Emerging Optoelectronics at The University of Manchester. He is recognised as a world-leading expert in the science and technology of large-area optoelectronics with ground-breaking contributions to the advancement of soluble organic and inorganic semiconductors. Recent examples include the development of printable Schottky diodes with record operating frequency (Nature Electronics 2020), rapid and scalable manufacturing methods for radio frequency diodes using light (Nature Communications 2022), and the development of record-efficient printed organic photovoltaics featuring self-assembled molecular interlayers (ACS Energy Letters 2020; Advanced Energy Materials 2022). 

Related papers  

• 23.6 % Efficient perovskite-organic tandem photovoltaics enabled by recombination layer engineering
• Stable Organic Solar Cells Enabled by Simultaneous Hole and Electron Interlayer Engineering
• Over 19% Efficient Inverted Organic Photovoltaics Featuring a Molecularly Doped Metal Oxide Electron‐Transporting Layer

The Photon Science Institute (PSI)
The PSI enables and catalyses world-leading science and innovation using the tools of cutting-edge photonics, spectroscopy, and imaging. Its lead pioneering research in photonic, electronic and quantum materials and devices, advanced instrumentation development, and BioPhotonics and bioanalytical spectroscopy.

To discuss this research further, contact Professor Anthopoulos at thomas.anthopoulos@manchester.ac.uk

To discuss semicoductor research, talk about potential collaboration, or to access facilities contact us here. 
 

Electrochemical processes are essential in renewable energy technologies like batteries, fuel cells, and electrolysers. However, their efficiency is often hindered by slow reactions and unwanted side effects. Traditional approaches have focused on new materials, yet significant challenges remain.

The Manchester team, led by Dr Marcelo Lozada-Hidalgo, has taken a novel approach. They have successfully decoupled the inseparable link between charge and electric field within graphene electrodes, enabling unprecedented control over electrochemical processes in this material. The breakthrough challenges previous assumptions and opens new avenues for energy technologies.

Dr Marcelo Lozada-Hidalgo sees this discovery as transformative, “We’ve managed to open up a previously inaccessible parameter space. A way to visualise this is to imagine a field in the countryside with hills and valleys. Classically, for a given system and a given catalyst, an electrochemical process would run through a set path through this field. If the path goes through a high hill or a deep valley – bad luck. Our work shows that, at least for the processes we investigated here, we have access to the whole field. If there is a hill or valley we do not want to go to, we can avoid it.”

The study focuses on proton-related processes fundamental for hydrogen catalysts and electronic devices. Specifically, the team examined two proton processes in graphene:

Proton Transmission: This process is important for developing new hydrogen catalysts and fuel cell membranes.

Proton Adsorption (Hydrogenation): Important for electronic devices like transistors, this process switches graphene’s conductivity on and off.

Traditionally, these processes were coupled in graphene devices, making it challenging to control one without impacting the other. The researchers managed to decouple these processes, finding that electric field effects could significantly accelerate proton transmission while independently driving hydrogenation. This selective acceleration was unexpected and presents a new method to drive electrochemical processes.

Highlighting the broader implication in energy applications, Dr Jincheng Tong, first author of the paper, said “We demonstrate that electric field effects can disentangle and accelerate electrochemical processes in 2D crystals. This could be combined with state-of-the-art catalysts to efficiently drive complex processes like CO2 reduction, which remain enormous societal challenges.”

Dr Yangming Fu, co-first author, pointed to potential applications in computing: “Control of these process gives our graphene devices dual functionality as both memory and logic gate. This paves the way for new computing networks that operate with protons.  This could enable compact, low-energy analogue computing devices.”

Since publication, a review of the paper was included in Nature’s News & Views section, which summarises high-impact research and provides a forum where scientific news is shared with a wide audience spanning a range of disciplines: Graphene combines computer logic and memory in a single device.

The National Graphene Institute (NGI) is a world-leading graphene and 2D material centre, focussed on fundamental research. Based at The University of Manchester, where graphene was first isolated in 2004 by Professors Sir Andre Geim and Sir Kostya Novoselov, it is home to leaders in their field – a community of research specialists delivering transformative discovery. This expertise is matched by £13m leading-edge facilities, such as the largest class 5 and 6 cleanrooms in global academia, which gives the NGI the capabilities to advance underpinning industrial applications in key areas including: composites, functional membranes, energy, membranes for green hydrogen, ultra-high vacuum 2D materials, nanomedicine, 2D based printed electronics, and characterisation.