Skip to main content
EnglishEN
European Commission logo print header

Development of continuous two-dimensional defect-free materials by liquid-metal catalytic routes

Project description

DEENESFRITPL

Advanced approaches to mass production of 2D materials

Two-dimensional (2D) materials such as graphene, hexagonal boron nitride and silicene hold great potential for future technological applications. However, the lack of effective and eco-friendly synthesis methods limits their practical use. Liquid metal catalysts offer a promising alternative to solid catalysts for continuous, high-quality 2D material production. However, knowledge about the catalytic properties of these catalysts is limited. The EU-funded LMCat project aims to create a central lab, collaborating with European scientific and engineering teams, to develop advanced methodologies for studying chemical reactions on molten catalysts. The proposed research will establish the first efficient mass production of 2D materials, opening up the possibility of exploiting the 2D material properties on industrial-scale applications and everyday devices.

Objective

Two-dimensional materials (2DMs) such as graphene, hexagonal boron nitride, silicene and others, are currently amongst the most intensively studied classes of materials that hold great promise for future applications in many technological areas. However, the main hurdle against practical utilization of 2DMs is the lack of effective mass production techniques to satisfy the growing qualitative and quantitative demands for scientific and technological applications. The current state-of-the-art synthesis method of 2DMs involves the dissociative adsorption of gas-phase precursors on a solid catalyst. This process is slow by nature, inefficient, and environmentally unfriendly.
Our analysis and recent experimental evidence suggest that using liquid metal catalysts (LMCats) instead of solid ones bears the prospect of a continuous production of 2DMs with unprecedented quality and production speed. However, the current knowledge about the catalytic properties of LMCats is extremely poor, as they had no technological significance in the past. In fact, there exist no well-established experimental facilities, nor theoretical frameworks to study the ongoing chemical reactions on a molten surface at elevated temperatures and under a reactive gas atmosphere.
Our aim is to establish a central lab under supervision/collaboration of several scientific/engineering teams across Europe to develop an instrumentation/methodology capable of studying the ongoing chemical reactions on the molten catalyst, with the goal to open two new lines of research, namely in situ investigations on the catalytic activity of LMCats in general, and unravelling the growth mechanisms of 2DMs on LMCat surfaces in specific. The gained knowledge will be used to establish the first efficient mass production method for 2DMs using the new LMCat technology. This will open up the possibility of exploiting the unique properties of 2DMs on an industrial scale and in every day devices.

Fields of science

Keywords

Programme(s)

Topic(s)

Call for proposal

H2020-FETOPEN-2016-2017

See other projects for this call

Sub call

H2020-FETOPEN-1-2016-2017

Funding Scheme

RIA - Research and Innovation action

Coordinator

UNIVERSITEIT LEIDEN
Net EU contribution
€ 614 875,00
Address
RAPENBURG 70
2311 EZ Leiden
Netherlands

See on map
Region
West-Nederland Zuid-Holland Agglomeratie Leiden en Bollenstreek
Activity type
Higher or Secondary Education Establishments
Links
Total cost
€ 614 875,00

Participants (5)

Share this page

Download

Last update: 17 July 2023

My Booklet

Permalink: https://cordis.europa.eu/project/id/736299

European Union, 2024