Boron Nitride

A University of Birmingham research team has developed a novel vibration-based technique for producing graphene and other 2D materials that achieves production rates over six times higher than current methods while functioning at concentrations up to 1000 mg mL⁻¹. The work demonstrates a sustainable approach that operates at room temperature without requiring toxic solvents.

The researchers employed a resonant acoustic mixing system that vibrates dispersions at frequencies of 60 Hz and accelerations up to 100g, delivering energy density two orders of magnitude lower than shear exfoliation. Using electron microscopy combined with multiphase computational models, the team revealed that vibrational motion causes graphite particles to fold at the edges, followed by particle fracture and sheet peeling. In the liquid phase, mechanical forces exceed the interlayer binding energy between layers, facilitating molecular-scale sheet delamination into atomically thin graphene.

Researchers from Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München (LMU Munich), Princeton University, Peking University, University of Florida, Basque Foundation for Science, Technical University of Munich, and Japan's National Institute of Material Sciences have built an advanced Quantum Twisting Microscope (QTM) that can observe, with unprecedented precision, the interactions between electrons in graphene - even at room temperature. The study, led by Professor Dmitri Efetov from LMU’s Faculty of Physics and co-coordinator of the Munich Center for Quantum Science and Technology (MCQST), marks a major leap forward in the direct measurement of quantum many-body effects in two-dimensional (2D) materials.

Quantum Twisting Microscope in Munich. Image credit: MCQST

At its core, the QTM enables energy- and momentum-resolved tunneling spectroscopy between two atomically thin layers with a controllable twist angle. By integrating a hexagonal boron nitride (hBN) layer as a tunneling dielectric, the team significantly improved both the energy resolution and the operational range of twist angles. This enhancement allowed researchers to access previously hidden dispersion features in tunneling spectra between two monolayer graphene sheets. The measurements revealed a logarithmic correction to graphene’s linear Dirac spectrum, a hallmark of electron-electron interactions long predicted but never before observed under ambient conditions. The extracted fine-structure constant, α ≈ 0.32 ± 0.01, quantifies the interaction strength and aligns closely with theoretical expectations.

Researchers from Nanjing University of Aeronautics and Astronautics have demonstrated an atom‑thin sliding ferroelectric transistor that can reliably store 3,024 distinct, non‑volatile polarization states at room temperature - a record for ferroelectric neuromorphic hardware. The device is built from a well‑aligned monolayer graphene channel on hexagonal boron nitride (hBN), forming a moiré superlattice that enables fine, electrical control over ferroelectric polarization and charge localization within just a few atomic layers.

Performance comparison of Gr/hBN device and schematic diagram of its working mechanism. Credit: Nature Electronics (2026)

The transistor consists of an aligned graphene monolayer atop ferroelectric hBN, with source, drain and gate electrodes defined by standard nanofabrication, including electron‑beam evaporation for the metal contacts. Graphene serves as a high‑mobility, atomically thin channel whose Fermi level can be tuned electrostatically, while the underlying hBN provides sliding‑induced ferroelectricity and an atomically flat, low‑disorder interface. The lattice mismatch of about 1.8% between graphene and hBN generates a long‑wavelength moiré potential, which plays a central role in localizing injected carriers and stabilizing multiple polarization configurations.

Researchers from Shanghai Jiao Tong University and Shanghai Electric Power Generation Equipment have developed a multilayer graphene-based thermally conductive and electrically insulating tape (MTCEIT) that achieves a combination of lateral heat spreading capability and dielectric integrity for compact, high-power electronic systems. 

The continuous miniaturization of integrated devices, accompanied by exponentially increasing power densities, imposes stringent requirements on thermal interface materials (TIMs) that must efficiently dissipate heat while providing strong electrical insulation within submillimeter thickness constraints. Conventional polymer composites and ceramic-filled films struggle to meet these competing demands, typically exhibiting in-plane thermal conductivities below 70 W m⁻¹ K⁻¹ once their thickness exceeds 200 µm. To overcome this limitation, the MTCEIT integrates graphene paper - a stacked and compressed assembly of two-dimensional graphene sheets - as a high-efficiency lateral heat spreading layer. 

Researchers from the Beijing Institute of Technology, Peking University and Japan's National Institute for Materials Science have developed a few-layer graphene/CrOCl/few-layer graphene van der Waals (vdW) heterostructure that functions as a broadband infrared optoelectronic synaptic device, notable for its tunable spike timing-dependent plasticity and a broad spectral response range of 520–2000 nanometers. This system addresses the limitations of conventional 2D synaptic devices, which are typically restricted to visible light due to their material bandgaps.

The device is composed of two thin graphene layers separated by a chromium oxychloride (CrOCl) barrier, all encapsulated in hexagonal boron nitride for stability. When a voltage is applied, electrons tunnel through the CrOCl layer, even in the absence of light—a behavior distinct from metal-contact devices. Upon illumination (including infrared wavelengths), interfacial coupling drives charge transfer from graphene to CrOCl, modulating the tunneling barrier and triggering synaptic plasticity effects, such as spike-number and frequency-dependent plasticity.

A research team, led by Daniil Gorbachev and Na Xin at the University of Manchester and working with colleagues including Kenji Watanabe and Takashi Taniguchi, demonstrated a major improvement in graphene’s electronic properties by strategically positioning graphite gates in extremely close proximity to the material. 

This innovative approach, which involves placing the gates just one nanometer away, dramatically reduces charge variations and potential fluctuations, ultimately boosting graphene’s mobility to exceed even the highest-quality semiconductor heterostructures. The resulting material exhibits exceptional performance, enabling the observation of subtle quantum phenomena previously hidden by disorder and paving the way for a new era in two-dimensional materials research.

Researchers from Yale University, California Institute of Technology, City University of New York, Kansas State University and ETH Zurich have reported a new way of generating long-wave infrared and terahertz waves. The work could pave the way towards cheaper, smaller long-wave infrared light sources and more efficient device cooling.

Phonon-polaritons are a unique type of electromagnetic wave that occurs when light interacts with vibrations in a material's crystal lattice structure. These phonon-polariton waves exhibit several unique characteristics. For example, they can concentrate the energy of long-wavelength infrared light into extremely small volumes, even down to tens of nanometers, as well as effectively move heat away from the source. This makes phonon-polaritons ideal for high-tech applications like sub-wavelength imaging, molecular sensors, and heat management within electronics. However, research on phonon-polariton waves has thus far mainly focused on fundamental studies in laboratory settings, with practical device applications remaining largely unexplored.

A University of Manchester team of scientists has reported a 'significant milestone in the field of quantum electronics' with their latest study on spin injection to graphene. The paper outlines advancements in spintronics and quantum transport.

Spin transport electronics, or spintronics, represents a revolutionary alternative to traditional electronics by utilizing the spin of electrons rather than their charge to transfer and store information. This method promises energy-efficient and high-speed solutions that exceed the limitations of classical computation, for next generation classical and quantum computation. The Manchester team, led by Dr. Ivan Vera-Marun, has fully encapsulated monolayer graphene in hexagonal boron nitride, an insulating and atomically flat 2D material, to protect its high quality. By engineering the 2D material stack to expose only the edges of graphene, and laying magnetic nanowire electrodes over the stack, they successfully form one-dimensional (1D) contacts.

A collaborative effort involving POSTECH and the University of Technology Sydney has yielded an advancement in light source technology. The team used graphene to develop a quantum light emitting diode (Quantum LED) that can precisely emit light using a single atom. This innovative technology generates light by injecting charges into a luminescent material composed of a single atom. 

The research team implemented this advanced light source technology using hexagonal boron nitride (hBN), a material known for its ability to stably confine electrons in various atomic defects. Unlike traditional quantum dots, which are composed of hundreds to thousands of atoms, the quantum LED developed by the team exhibits excellent quantum light source characteristics even at room temperature. This breakthrough addresses a significant challenge in the field, as hBN's wide bandgap has historically made it difficult to inject charges electrically, thus hindering the development of LED devices. To overcome this obstacle, the researchers designed a "graphene-hBN-graphene" van der Waals tunneling structure. 

Researchers at Korea's Pohang University of Science and Technology and Japan's National Institute for Materials Science have developed a way to control the properties of graphene by combining superconductors and graphene. 

Professor Lee Gil-ho of Pohang University of Science and Technology (POSTECH) and researchers from the Research Institute, in collaboration with Kenji Watanabe and Takashi Taniguchi from the National Institute for Materials Science (NIMS) in Japan, noted they have successfully improved the junction characteristics between graphene and superconducting electrodes.