Engineering Fellowships for Growth: Imperceptible smart coatings based on atomically thin materials

航空、汽车和航天工业对更高燃油效率的需求推动了对低重量高性能材料的需求。例如，可以产生光或收集电力的低比重电子设备可以嵌入油漆或窗户中，这将使当前车辆的结构大大减轻，从而提高效率。与此同时，在车辆电路中充当接地的低比重电导体还能保护飞机免受闪电的伤害，这也将大大减轻车辆的重量。超轻的透明导体和半导体也构成了下一代柔性太阳能电池和未来柔性电子元件的基本成分。原子薄材料不仅具有这些理想的性能，而且具有优异的机械、热、电和气体不渗透性能，是实现多功能涂层的理想选择。原子薄的材料是所能想到的最薄的材料。石墨烯——一种单原子碳层——无疑是这种新材料家族中最著名和最受研究的代表。它是已知强度最大的材料，是最好的电和热导体，具有机械柔韧和透明的特点。其他新兴的原子薄材料，如二硫化物如MoS2，具有与石墨烯互补的特性，如晶体管应用所必需的半导体特性。化学功能化的最新进展表明，通过分子或化学元素与原始材料的化学键合，这些原子薄材料的性能可以提高到前所未有的水平。关于化学功能化潜力的最新例子是GraphExeter，这是我的团队在埃克塞特开发的一种新型石墨烯基材料。在这种情况下，用少层石墨烯的FeCl3功能化可以得到最好的透明电导体，其性能优于显示器中使用的氧化铟锡。在高价值产品中开发具有非凡性能的原子薄材料，如智能不易察觉的涂层，正是该提案的核心。因此，这个雄心勃勃的奖学金旨在通过利用原子薄材料的新兴技术来制作难以察觉的智能涂层，从而在工程先进材料方面建立英国的领导地位。这将加速高效飞机、汽车、显示器和具有新功能的太阳能电池的快速发展。实现这一目标将成为对我们的社会至关重要的几项尖端技术的基础，例如将汽车和飞机的挡风玻璃转变为显示控制和gps激活地图，同时允许他们的窗户和油漆从太阳中收集电力。与我将开发的团队一起实现这一研究愿景，我们将致力于了解大规模制造原子薄导电和半导体涂层所涉及的材料特性和加工挑战。基于这种理解，我的团队将通过探索原子薄材料的可持续使用来开发高价值的产品，用于原型多功能智能涂层。具体来说，我们将开发隐形涂层，这不仅将提高飞机、汽车、显示器和太阳能电池的效率，还将增加新的功能，如发光和能量收集。因此，这项研究的结果将对社会产生革命性的影响，因为它将改变许多行业的现状，从汽车和航空航天到信息和通信技术。我在这类材料研究方面的杰出研究记录使我处于一个独特的位置来完成这样具有挑战性的任务。

The need for greater fuel efficiency in the aeronautical, automotive and aerospace industries is driving the demand for low weight high-performance materials. For example, low specific weight electronic devices which can generate light or harvest electricity and can be embedded into paints or windows would make the structures of current vehicles considerably lighter, therefore more efficient. At the same time, low specific weight electrical conductors acting as a ground in the electrical circuits of vehicles and yet able to protect aircraft from lightning bolts would also reduce considerably the vehicle weight. Extra lightweight transparent conductors and semiconductors also constitute the fundamental ingredients for the next generation flexible solar cells and future flexible electronic components. Atomically thin materials, not only offer these desired properties, but with their excellent mechanical, thermal, electrical, and gas impermeability properties are ideal for the realization of multi-functional coatings. Atomically thin materials are the thinnest materials which can be conceived. Graphene -a monoatomic carbon layer- is certainly the most celebrated and studied representative of this new family of materials This is the strongest known material, the best electrical and thermal conductor which is mechanically flexible and transparent. Other emerging atomically thin materials, e.g. dichalcogenides such as MoS2, have complementary characteristics to graphene such as semiconducting properties necessary for transistor applications. Recent advances in chemical functionalization have shown that the properties of these atomically thin materials can be enhanced to unprecedented levels by chemical bonding of a molecule or a chemical element to the pristine material. The most recent example of the potential of chemical functionalization is GraphExeter, a new graphene-based material which my team developed at Exeter. In this case, functionalization with FeCl3 of few-layer graphene results in the best transparent electrical conductor which outperforms Indium Tin Oxide used in displays. The exploitation of atomically thin materials with extraordinary performances in high-value products such as smart imperceptible coatings is exactly at the heart of this proposal. Thus, this ambitious fellowship aims to build UK leadership in engineering advanced materials by exploiting the emerging technologies of atomically thin materials for prototyping imperceptible smart coatings. This will accelerate the fast development of highly efficient aircrafts, cars, displays and solar cells with added novel functionalities. Achieving this aim will be the foundation of several cutting-edge technologies crucial for our society, such as transforming the windscreens of cars and airplanes into display controls and GPS-activated maps and at the same time allowing their windows and paints to harvest electricity from the sun.Together with the team that I will develop to deliver this research vision, we will aim at understanding the materials properties and processing challenges involved in the large scale manufacturing of atomically thin conducting and semiconducting coatings. Building on this understanding, my team will focus on developing high-value products by exploring the sustainable use of atomically thin materials for prototyping multi-functional smart coatings. Specifically, we will develop imperceptible coatings, which will not only enhance the efficiency of aircrafts, cars, displays and solar cells, but will add novel functionalities, such as light emission and energy harvesting. The outcomes of this research will therefore have a revolutionary impact on society as it will change the current landscape of many industries, ranging from automotive and aerospace to information and communication technologies. My track record of outstanding research in the studies of such materials puts me in a unique position to complete such challenging tasks.