Trinity College Dublin Jonathan Coleman been awarded a European Research Commission (ERC) Starter Grant of 1.5 million Euro. This will go towards his research of splitting graphite into graphene layers.

Two of the materials that Prof Coleman is currently researching are Bismuth Telluride and Molybdenum Disulfide. Bismuth Telluride is used to generate energy from waste heat, for example from car engines or nuclear plants etc. Professor Colemans method of separating graphene using a liquid process could be applied to bismuth telluride, which could then be coated onto thin film substrates and attached to the side of a moving car or a nuclear plant to capture the lost heat energy and convert it into usable electrical energy.