Dislocated layered materials are fundamentally different to their non-dislocated equivalent. For example, screw dislocations in multiple graphene layers convert them into a single continuous helical sheet, allowing c-axis thermal and electrical conduction; both edge and screw dislocations block interlayer shear, normally considered universal between graphene layers. Non-basal dislocations in layered materials are common but despite this, due to their structural complexity, there are very few studies to date in the literature. Using the latest modelling tools, such as machine-learning carbon potentials (ASE and GAP-20U) we will explore prismatic edge dislocations and screw dislocations in nanoscale layered carbons, supported by AFM and Raman studies, synchrotron and electron microscopy. Our *scientific goal* is to explore and expand dislocation theory for layered 2D-materials, understand dislocation core structures, migration, and interaction with impurities such as water (pipe diffusion and hypersonic flow), as well as metals and halogens (dislocation mediated intercalation processes and formation of staging compounds). We will understand and explore dislocation formation mechanisms using irradiation and flash thermolysis. Our *technological goals* are to explore poorly understood technological processes in 2D-nanocarbons such as superlubrication in the context of dislocations, and the potentially crucial role of dislocations in intercalation, aiming to guide dislocation design in graphite battery electrodes for high-speed metal-ion intercalation and deintercalation. We will develop and optimise dislocation engineering in nanocarbons through irradiation and flash thermolysis. Our team consists of three partners in Nantes, Bordeaux and Lyon, with three overseas associates in UK, Spain and Australia, all of whom are well-known international experts in carbon defect physics and chemistry.

This project examines how the current changes in the political information environments in European democracies affect the conditions for a healthy democracy. As a theoretical background we employ the concept of ‘political information environment’ (PIE) that includes both the supply and demand of political news and information. Supply refers to the quantity and quality of news and public affairs content provided through traditional and new media sources, demand captures the amount and type of news and information the public wants or consumes. Recent changes in the political information environment may lead to a growing number of uniformed, misinformed and selectively informed citizens, potentially endangering the functioning of democracy. To examine these concerns, the study aims at investigating the following: (1) how do citizens today gain political information and how does this relate to their political attitudes and behaviour; (2) what is the content and quality of the information citizens are exposed to; (3) where do divides between being informed and not being informed exist, across and within European societies, and (4) how can citizens be empowered to navigate and find valuable information. We will do this through a series of comparative, innovatively designed studies, including web tracking, comparative surveys, focus groups and survey-embedded experiments in 14 European countries and the US. These countries vary on a number of key contextual factors relevant for the study, covering both “young” and established democracies with different democratic traditions, media systems, and news consumption habits.