Graphene and other two-dimensional (2D) materials are one of the priority areas of the European Commission's Horizon 2020 programme. The exceptional mechanical and electronic properties of graphene have put this material at the forefront of research in recent years. However, as it is not a semiconductor material, its electronic applications are limited.

Due to this reason, the design of new 2D systems with other properties, such as superconductivity, is continually expanding.  Its study already integrates researchers from different disciplines interested in deciphering the chemistry and physics of two-dimensional materials involved in the development of functional devices and novel applications.

Organised jointly by the Universitat de València and the Friedrich-Alexander-Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg (Germany), the ‘2D-Chem Valencia-Erlangen Symposium’ aims to promote discussion and collaboration between researchers in order to face the enormous scientific challenges in this field, both from an experimental and a theoretical perspective.

The University of Friedrich-Alexander Erlangen-Nürnberg (FAU) is probably Europe's largest and most productive pioneer community in this field. It is the only institution where all the fields of carbon research are represented: chemistry, physics and engineering of graphite materials, carbon nanotubes, fullerenes and new synthetic carbon allotropes.

The Institute of Molecular Science (ICMol) of the Universitat de València develops competitive research in materials science using a molecular approach. This is, in fact, the only Spanish research centre focused exclusively on the study of molecules and functional molecular materials that exhibit magnetic, electrical or optical properties and is internationally recognised as one of the pioneering centres for research on molecular nanoscience and, specifically, molecular magnetism and 2D materials.

The symposium, which aims to strengthen relations between the research groups in Valencia and Erlangen, will address issues ranging from the chemical and physical properties of 2D materials to the applications of two-dimensional materials in energy storage and conversion, optoelectronics, flexible electronics, catalysis or spintronics, all of which are of scientific interest in this field.