Singapore university targets graphene research leadership
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The National University of Singapore (NUS) has opened a $12million micro and nano fabrication facility at its Graphene Research Centre. This is said to be the first facility of its kind in Asia dedicated to graphene.
The Graphene Research Centre was set up in August 2010 as part of the NUS Faculty of Science. The Centre, which is involved in projects worth more than $78m, aims to be a leader in graphene research. Researchers at the centre are being advised by Professors Andre Geim and Professor Konstantin Novoselov from Manchester University, who won the 2010 Nobel Prize in Physics for their discovery of graphene.
Elaborating on the mission of the Centre, its director Professor Antonio Neto said: "The Centre will play a globally leading role in studying graphene and its derivatives. Our research addresses immediate growth, synthesis, transfer and doping problems of existing approaches. We aim to break current technological bottlenecks for industry adoption by meeting the industrial benchmarks of conductivity and optical transparency for graphene and by improving size and conductivity of graphene flakes from solution at a low cost. Our long term goal is to create a strong patent portfolio that will allow for start up spin offs and for commercialisation via the route of IP licensing to industry leaders."
The Graphene Research Centre at the NUS includes 800 m2 of operational space and 1000m2 of laboratory space. There are currently 19 researchers working on 16 projects, with applications ranging from medicine to nanotechnology.
