The National Graphene Institute (NGI) has announced a partnership with independent materials manufacturer Thomas Swn.

Aimed at developing new opportunities, the pairing will accelerate graphene commercialisation whilst increasing early stage research on other 2D materials.

A whole family of new atomically thin materials have become known to scientists since the initial isolation of graphene in 2004, including, boron nitride – also known as ‘white graphene’.

Whilst graphene has a whole range of superlative properties, other 2D materials exhibit similar properties which are often complementary when used in conjunction with graphene.

Boron Nitride is an incredibly effective thermal insulator, now researchers at the NGI working with materials supplied by Thomas Swan have developed the first prototype demonstration of the future benefits of using the new material.

Scientists in Manchester have created a thermal paste using white graphene which allows electronics to run at much lower temperatures than current technology.

This leads to new possibilities for higher performance electronics with longer lifespans.

Through the new partnership Thomas Swan will provide 2D products to support early stage research projects within the NGI and will also support scale-up for prototyping of new technologies.

The NGI will provide feedback on the performance of Thomas Swan products and identify opportunities for future improvement.

James Baker, Graphene Business Director of the NGI said: “Graphene research has moved on significantly from fundamental characterisation to early commercialisation. Other 2D materials now offer both academics and industry new avenues for exploitation.

“With graphene we can now start to leverage the existing material supply chain and focus on developing applications.

"Now it’s important to ensure our understanding of other 2D materials is sound and look to scale up and develop these amazing new materials which could have untold impact on industry in conjunction with graphene.”

Andy Goodwin, commercial director at Thomas Swan said: “This is a great opportunity to work with world class scientists to increase our understanding of 2D material technologies and then work together to accelerate their adoption into real world applications.

“Thomas Swan are uniquely positioned to supply a range of 2D materials in addition to graphene and we are delighted to be partnered with the NGI.”