Fuel cells have been promoted as a pollution free alternative for energy generation when converting hydrogen into electricity. There are several constraints which have limited the implementation of this technology and this proposal addresses all of the major problems. To make hydrogen requires energy and using conventional methods requires electricity to electrolyse water, if the electricity comes from fossil fuels then the problem is simply moved rather than solved. To use renewable energy requires electrolysers where the energy intermittently generated by the source (wind, solar, tidal etc) is converted into hydrogen at source by an on-site Polymer Electrolyte Membrane (PEM) Electrolyser. The problem with PEM electrolysers is that the membrane used needs to be thick to prevent hydrogen mixing with oxygen to form an explosive mixture but the thickness of the membrane reduces efficiency. Similar problems manifest themselves in fuel cells, the conversion of hydrogen back into electricity requires a PEM fuel cell, the membrane is the same as in the electrolyser and again needs to be thick to prevent fuel crossover but this again reduces efficiency. A third technology, the Direct Methanol Fuel Cell (DMFC) was developed to address the problems around hydrogen storage but again the membrane is the same and again thickness and fuel crossover constrain the efficacy of the membrane. In this work we intend to take the properties of the graphene and hexagonal boron nitride (hBN) which have been proven to allow protons to pass but prevent all other transport of materials and apply them to the three technologies discussed. The materials challenges around the manufacture of a defect free barrier membrane will be tackled with the added benefit of utilising the expensive platinum catalyst more efficiently. The potential benefit of this work is that hydrogen production will become more efficient and the cost of converting the fuel into electricity in a fuel cell will decrease as the overall cost of the fuel cell is reduced. This will make viable the use of 'green hydrogen' as an energy storage medium and enable the route to market for PEM fuel cells which are necessary to convert the hydrogen (and other fuels such as methanol) into electrical energy. Another potential benefit of this study is the complete replacement of the membrane material by a supported graphene or hBN. This will facilitate the reduction in volume of a fuel cell, as the fuel will no longer need to be humidified so there will be fewer components, which is important for mobile/portable applications.

Achieving a low-carbon green footprint is currently one of the most urgent tasks in developing new ICT technologies, as energy required for the state-of-the-art artificial intelligence (AI), Internet-of-things (IoT), and next generations of mobile communications (6G) is skyrocketing. This is because the traditional von Neumann systems and CMOS technologies constantly need to shuttle massive amount of data between the physically-separated memory and processor units, hence consumes huge amounts of energy and data bandwidth for AI applications. Energy demand for mobile communication is also expected to increase exponentially, which needs to be substantially reduced for the 6G era. In contrast to the conventional device technologies, memristors exhibit a programmable resistance with non-volatile memory and their memory market value has exceeded $621 million in 2021. Recent studies have shown that novel 2D memristive devices may also be exploited with significant advantages of 10,000x less energy consumption, both as synapse and neuron for advanced non-von Neumann AI computation and as RF switches for 6G mobile communication. Our first demonstration in 2018 of non-volatile resistive switching (NVRS) in monolayer MoS2 and h-BN made a disruptive progress by substantially reducing the interelectrode distance to sub-nanometers and resulting in the thinnest memory cells with smaller switching voltages (~300 mV) and prospects of orders higher energy efficiency and density than existing memristors. We have since expanded the collection of two-dimensional (2D) atomic sheets showing NVRS to a dozen materials, indicating its potential universality in ultrathin non-metallic 2D materials for applications including high-density memory, neuromorphic computing, flexible nanoelectronics, and tera-hertz radio-frequency (RF) switches. The semiconductor industry can considerably benefit from the broad portfolio of 2D materials to advance electron devices, especially memory devices that is currently one of the key technology drivers. One of the biggest challenges with atomic memristors is endurance. Typical values are less than 1000 cycles of resistance switching. This is reminiscent of the early days of oxide memristors. This challenge requires a rigorous experimental materials design and measurement study to gain operational insights that can translate to better engineered memristor devices (defects, interfaces, fields, etc.) and tailored testing protocol for orders of magnitude improved endurance. We will achieve this ambitious goal through understanding the ageing, fatigue and degradation mechanisms in atomic memristors (atomristor) by using in-operando atomic resolution multi-probe scanning tunnelling microscope (STM) and developing novel electrical test protocols and characterization techniques, to provide the foundational knowledge for endurance improvement. We will also explore the use of interfacial layers and asymmetric electrodes as a novel degree of freedom that can control or impede the mobility of defects and result in more stable multi-level resistive switching. High-performance computing and communication devices such as synapses for neuromorphic computing, and zero-power non-volatile switches for 6G communication will be demonstrated. This project will lay the foundations for a new paradigm of deployable atomristors ubiquitously towards ultra-low energy AI and 6G systems with unprecedented efficiency and scalability.

This Programme Grant capitalise on the world-leading expertise and research infrastructure on graphene and 2D materials available at the University of Manchester (UoM) to develop future therapies and generate innovative healthcare technology platforms by ascertaining UK leadership in biotech and pharmaceutical development. There is an increasing need to develop new innovative technologies for healthcare, digital services and other innovation with the vision to deliver health services in more efficient ways and with benefits to patients and taxpayers. The National Health Services (NHS) is under increasing financial pressure in recent years, mainly due to population growth and an increased demand on NHS services. In addition to that, a growing ageing population associated with increased prevalence of pathologies such as cardiovascular disease, dementias, cancer and diabetes significantly add to the cost of care in the NHS. Innovative solutions for development of future therapies that could respond to such unmet clinical needs, reduce the cost burden on the NHS and provide a more effective, safer and patient-centred care is highly needed now. 2D materials are one atom thick materials. The family of these flat crystals is very large and includes transition metal dichalcogenides, hexagonal boron nitride, and graphene among many others. Altogether, they cover a large range of properties (from conductive to insulating, from transparent to opaque, from mechanically stiff to compliant) that can be exploited for the creation of new devices and technologies with a wide range of applications. Various innovative G2D based materials and technologies have been pioneered at the University of Manchester such as the super-hydrophilic graphene oxide based membranes, 2D material water based inks for printable electronics, and graphene based printed technology for wireless wearable communication applications. These newly developed materials and technologies have great potential for use in biomedicine can be exploited for the design and engineering of novel healthcare technologies towards solutions or improvements of unmet clinical needs. In the 2D-Health research programme, we formed a team of internationally renowned and highly esteemed multi-disciplinary researchers and some of the world-leaders in G2D research in order to utilise selected unique properties offered by G2D materials and technologies and to develop innovative solutions for specific unmet clinical needs in wound care and management (relevant to diabetes); tissue rehabilitation by electrical stimulation (relevant to dementia); cell therapeutics (relevant to cardiovascular disease); and immunotherapeutics (relevant to cancer). This programme directly aligns to the EPSRC Healthcare Technologies priorities by aiming to develop future therapies in specific applications of unmet clinical need and draws on several cross-cutting capabilities: a) custom-design G2D materials into advanced materials under specifications aimed at a precise industry-driven use, exploring different chemical modification strategies; b) development of novel imaging and sensing technologies for tracking and monitoring therapeutic intervention; and c) develop G2D-based technologies through the preclinical stage for each of the application areas using relevant cellular and animal models. Strong partnership with industrial partners for rapid clinical translation and in collaboration with ethicists and regulators aims to ensure responsible and societally-acceptable innovations.