The German Research Foundation (DFG) is funding the new Collaborative Research Centre (CRC) "Heterostructures of Molecules and 2D Materials" (CRC 1772) from October 2025. It is one of a total of thirteen Collaborative Research Centres to strengthen cutting-edge research, which will be funded with around 177 million euros for almost four years from October 2025.
The applicant for the CRC "Heterostructures of Molecules and 2D Materials" is Freie Universität Berlin (FU). The Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin (HU), the Technische Universität Berlin (TU) and the Max Planck Institute for the Structure and Dynamics of Matter (Hamburg) are also involved. The HU is represented by five Principal Investigators, Dr Benedikt Haas, Dr Sebastian Heeg, Prof Christoph Koch, Prof Norbert Koch from the Department of Physics and Prof Stefan Hecht from the Department of Chemistry. The first funding phase runs until the end of 2029.
The research centres on so-called 2D materials. They consist of just a single atomic layer and are more than one hundred thousand times thinner than a hair. The best-known 2-dimensional material is graphene, which consists of just one atomic layer of graphite crystal. 2D materials have the special property that the atoms within a layer are more strongly bonded than to atoms outside this layer. The atomic layers can therefore be shifted against each other or separated relatively easily. This is why graphite is well suited as a pencil lead, for example, or other 2D materials as a lubricant. 2D materials are also interesting for industrial applications due to their special properties.
As part of the new research project, the scientists want to apply organic molecules to the 2D materials. They are particularly interested in how the materials behave and change optically under the influence of electric fields. The aim is to specifically influence the optoelectronic properties through the interaction of the 2D materials with the molecules in order to discover new physical effects. Synergies between the very different types of material are also being researched.
The research project could provide new insights into a still young field of research. The scientists hope to gain insights into new physical effects in the combination of 2D materials with the very rich spectrum of electrical and optical phenomena in organic molecules.