Nano-technology firm Nanoco has launched a wholly-owned subsidiary named Nanoco 2D Materials in order to focus on the development and commercialisation of a new generation of nano-materials.
For the past year Nanoco has been collaborating with Professor Konstantin Novoselov, 2010 winner of the Nobel Prize for Physics for his work on graphene, with the goal to establish feasibility for these new materials.

Nanoco's two-dimensional nano-particles form part of a platform technology just one or two atoms thick and a few nanometres wide, but represent a burgeoning field of material science.

However, as there is no cost-effective method to produce these 2D materials on a commercial scale, nor any reliable method to ensure consistent properties suitable for the wide range of potential electronics, industrial and other applications, Novoselov and Nanoco have teamed up to rectify this.

Based on the positive results seen to date, 2D Materials has been created to formalise the partnership between the two groups, ensure funding is in place and continue the development of the technology.

2D Materials has received £400,000 in funding from The University of Manchester in the form of a ten-year convertible loan note which carries a 6.5% coupon.

Dr Nigel Pickett, co-founder of Nanoco, said, "By combining Nanoco's expertise with the knowledge base from Professor Novoselov's lab we have been able to push the boundaries of material science to come up with a new generation of versatile 2D nano-particles and are now utilising Nanoco's 15 years of scale-up expertise on methods to produce them at commercial scale."

Professor Novoselov added, "It is exciting to see how quickly 2D materials, beyond graphene, has accelerated from the early research stage to the technology we now have. Working with a very knowledgeable and dedicated Nanoco team continues to be a very refreshing experience. The ability of our combined teams to focus on particular technological and performance parameters is allowing the rapid development of these 2D Materials."

As of 1115 BST, Nanoco shares had inched forward 0.34% to 44.35p.

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