GRAPHICS Graphene hybrid switchable materiales

PI: Dr. Jose Sanchez Costa

Funding : Ministerio de Economía y Competitividad Excelencia 2016. CTQ2016-80635-P

Duration: 2016 - 2019

GRAPHICS will develop chemistry methods that will enable integrating new and tailored functionalities into novel graphene-based hybrid materials through controlling and modifying the growth and configuration of switchable Spin-crossover compounds (SCO) at the molecular level. As a result, novel 3D hybrid architectures will be obtained showing unique properties, due to the synergetic effects, unattainable in the constituent parent materials.

SCO are functional materials able to reversibly switch their spin state upon external stimuli (T and/or p, B, light irradiation or the inclusion of analytes). The reversible switch between the spin states leads to distinctive changes in various physical properties (magnetic, optical, electrical and/or mechanical), which make those exceptionally attractive as molecular sensors and for data storage (spintronics). Graphene is an exceptional substrate due to its highly specific and thin surface, low cost, versatility, enormous mechanical strength and chemical stability. It also exhibits other outstanding properties such as excellent conductance of both heat and electricity, remarkable high carrier mobility and high carrier density and easily measurable responses. The combination of both components into a hybrid nano-material will permit to discover novel properties with great potential for future technological use in the fields of energy storage, catalysis, industrial processing, environment or IC informatics technologies.