Researchers from the Universitat Duisburg-Essen in Germany and the University of Cambridge arrived at the University of Waterloo in June to participate in ongoing graduate student training aimed at leveraging 2D materials for various manufacturing applications. This international collaboration is supported by an NSERC CREATE grant, with Professor Michael Pope from the Department of Chemical Engineering serving as lead Principal Investigator. Researchers from the Faculty of Engineering, the Faculty of Science and the Waterloo Institute for Nanotechnology are involved in the collaboration.

2D materials consist of extremely thin layers that extend in two dimensions with almost no thickness in the third dimension. 2D materials may be only a few atoms thick and some possess unique properties such as high conductivity, mobility and high mechanical strength. The materials hold promise for a wide range of applications, including energy storage and conversion, semiconductors, sensors, biomedical uses, thin films and membranes for dehumidification, water purification, wastewater treatment, and energy recovery ventilators in HVAC systems.

The training brought together international academia, industry partners and graduate students to collaborate on the multidisciplinary aspects of producing, utilizing and scaling up 2D materials, focusing on the technical, techno-economics perspectives, and social impacts.

“What graduate students expect from a global research-intensive university renowned for entrepreneurship and innovation, is a research training experience that combines access to cutting-edge facilities with mentorship and networking in an international collaborative setting. This is precisely what the NSERC CREATE in Scalable 2D-Materials Architecture delivers,” says Professor Mario Ioannidis Chair of the Department of Chemical Engineering.

Integration with Indigenous perspectives

A key component of the program was integrating Indigenous people’s knowledge and ways of thinking to facilitate research and training towards a more sustainable world. Professor Bob Watts former Interim Executive Director of Canada’s Truth and Reconciliation Commission delivered a lecture to the training group. Watts emphasized the importance of acknowledging and incorporating Indigenous knowledge alongside Western knowledge.

After the presentation, the group enjoyed a delicious Indigenous meal at United College. The group engaged in an activity called PechaKucha (a Japanese phrase meaning chit-chat.)  PechaKucha is a storytelling format in which the presenter only has six seconds to talk about each slide of their presentation. The students' presentations celebrated the diversity within the group. Everyone had a great time learning more about the students’ lives and experiences!

 Industry partners

Industry partners played a critical role in the training program, offering insights and real-world applications of 2D materials. Corey Travers from Angstrom Engineering, which specializes in thin film deposition systems, gave a lecture and hosted a visit to their facility.

 Matt Heuft, Vice President of Business Development for Evercloak, a Velocity-based start-up that developed the world’s first graphene oxide membrane-based dehumidification system, also presented. This innovation contributes significantly to sustainability.  Shaana Chatterjee, founder of Make Materials, a company focused on electronic grade 2D films shared her expertise with the group.

“It’s valuable for students to get exposure to industrial research and see how product development differs from fundamental or early-stage research. Industrial research focuses on addressing business opportunities and uses technology to provide solution options to meet the opportunities. By including industrial speakers in the 2D-MATURE summer school program, students can see how their work may help address real-world problems,” said Matt Heuft, VP, Business Development, Evercloak.

Sustainability

Sustainability was a central theme throughout the training, with instruction on environmental lifecycle assessment to quantify the impact of creating and using 2D materials. The assessment was framed within the context of developing new products and materials for a circular economy. The training also included carbon accounting, focusing on the impact of climate change and its effects on human health and the environment.

Driving Innovation and Research

The students’ poster session where they presented their research was a highlight of the training. For the next six to eight months many German students will remain on campus to continue their research collaborations with graduate students and faculty from the University of Waterloo. The students will take part in hands-on training in various labs around campus.  

Leon Daniel, a student from Universitat Duisburg-Essen, noted, “My contribution is to understand how the properties of the materials change. I’m collaborating with researchers at the University of Waterloo. Here I use an ultra-fast microscope to examine the critical mechanisms in the material and here I get much more insight using this equipment.”

The collaboration between graduate students has been fruitful, leading to several research breakthroughs. Examples include improving graphene production, developing anodes for high-performance sodium-ion batteries, improving LEDs by utilizing transport layers and using 2D films for optoelectric applications.

Learn more about the NSERC CREATE Training Program for Graduate Students in Scalable 2D-Materials Architectures. 

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Feature image: Participants of the 2024 NSERC CREATE Training Program for Graduate Students in Scalable 2D-Materials Architectures visit local industry partner Angstrom Engineering.