Discussions on Materials Science: Materially Better Physical Sciences by EPSRC

MATERIALLY BETTER PHYSICAL SCIENCES Prospectus for the UK Materials Science Community

Contents Summary

Introduction

The review process

Background

Scope of the review

The international context

Results from the consultation

Materials Science research area landscapes

International oppportunities

Linking research and application

Creativity and innovation: encouraging adventure

Grand challenges

Setting priorities and filling the gaps

Pulling together: generating a community voice

Conclusions

Actions

Acknowlegements

Annexe 1: The initial review

Annexe 2: EPSRC physical sciences theme: Materials Science rationales

Annexe 3: EPSRC research areas with relevance to Materials Science

Annexe 4: Panel terms of reference and membership

Fibroblasts derived from human embryonic stem cells attached to protein pre-adsorbed polymer micro arrays.

Summary Materially Better presents a review and consultation on the state of materials science (as opposed to engineering) in the UK that took place in 2013. Its purpose is to inform EPSRC about the current state of materials science that falls within its Physical Sciences Capability Theme. In parallel, EPSRC is developing an Advanced Materials Strategy for the whole organisation. Rather than EPSRC direct a response as a result of this prospectus, this will form a key input to the corporate strategy. In addition to plans being formed by EPSRC we hope that the information and opinions that have been gathered in this document will inspire the research community to work more collegiately around the issues raised. The opinions and recommendations have arisen from the work of a specially convened Review Panel. This Panel drafted a discussion paper which was circulated to the community in 2013. The results of that consultation form the bulk of the report. The report includes comments on the seven research areas covered by the Physical Sciences Theme, opportunities for international collaboration and crosscutting issues. The background SWOT analysis done by the Review Panel and incorporated into the consultation paper is included for information. The conclusions can be summarised under four headings: Research areas, International, Generic priorities, and issues to be explored with the community.

RESEARCH AREAS • Condensed Matter: Magnetism & Magnetic Materials: understanding these materials will open up applications in a wide range of fields including data storage, energy and biomedical applications. • Functional Ceramics & Inorganics: inorganic materials have a wide range of application. Fundamental studies are needed of structure property relationships (including local disorder) as well as multi-length characterisation. • Graphene and Carbon Nanotechnology: these materials offer much promise in a wide range of applications. The challenge is developing routes for high-quality synthesis and scale up. • Materials for Energy Applications: novel research is needed to find the next-generation of energy materials for storage, generation and sustainability. • Photonic Materials and Metamaterials: this is an area where the UK has led the world. There is a continuing need for better understanding of these materials as well as the development of meta-materials. • Polymer Materials: UK research is vibrant. The subject is relevant to many of the identified societal challenges. • Superconductivity: this is an area of UK strength which has the potential to revolutionise many sectors if the goal of high temperature superconductivity can be achieved.

INTERNATIONAL Opportunities exist for collaboration with: • Europe: Germany, Switzerland, Sweden • Asia: China, Japan, Korea, Taiwan, Singapore • USA and Brazil could be worth exploring.

GENERIC PRIORITIES A number of generic priorities have emerged. These include a need for: • Fundamental understanding of materials properties and thus the technological opportunities they offer. • Studies of structure-property relationships. • New ways to design and control the production and scale-up of smart materials. • Energy and carbon efficient methods of manufacture, as well as for systems that do not rely on scarce materials and are leadfree. • The study of interfaces, including inorganic with organic, where the functionalisation of the surface and mechanisms of self assembly are little understood. Studies of interfaces are also important for the development of new coating technologies • Modelling and simulation especially along the length scales. There is a need to develop methods to predict the performance of complex engineering materials. • Addressing the challenge of durability in organic energy materials, in order for their promise to be realised. • Studies at the interface of chemistry and biology as these hold out the promise of new bio-inspired materials and biomimetics. • Encouraging innovation in the discovery and development of new biomaterials. • Nanotechnology looking beyond graphene and carbon. For example bringing together molecular chemistry with mesoscale researchers. • Ensuring that the UK has people with the core competencies of materials synthesis, materials characterisation, and simulation and theory.

ISSUES TO BE EXPLORED WITH THE COMMUNITY • Materials science research needs to be more adventurous. • Although we want to encourage innovative and creative research, the potential end uses should not be forgotten. There need to be better links to users. • There are opportunities to apply new knowledge and techniques to more established areas (for example bringing physics into metallurgy). How do researchers convince their peers of the need for the work? • EPSRC needs to consider how a broader view of the UK materials research could be obtained through stronger leadership. There may be advantages in having a UK materials meeting.

Introduction Materially Better has evolved into a prospectus, rather than the roadmap proposed in the earlier consultation document. This is a deliberate choice as in it we are not prescribing the routes to be followed, but giving a view over a section of the landscape, indicating some of its features and suggesting some destinations that might be useful to visit. Its purpose is information, not direction. The report grew out of a need of the EPSRC’s Physical Sciences theme to understand the emerging priorities in this part of the landscape: the interests of the community, its strengths and concerns. The report thus focuses on the aspects of materials science covered by the Physical Sciences theme, whilst suggesting broader aspects which can be pursued later and not only by EPSRC. We recognise that materials research is also supported by many other parts of EPSRC including Engineering, Energy, Healthcare, ICT and Manufacturing the Future themes. Some examples are given, but it should be noted that this report is not intended as a definitive list. If the connection or subject is not listed it does not mean it is not important. We hope that you will look for the links to your own research and come forward with appropriate research proposals. In our turn we will be working over the coming months to ensure the findings fit with the broader UK Materials Science portfolio. In compiling the report we have tried to consult widely, but the views received will reflect the nature of the responses: not all areas received the same amount of comment. However, as we are not setting priorities, but

indicating areas of interest for the community to respond, the fact that coverage may be incomplete in some areas is not a handicap. Any gaps can be addressed as a part of future discussions or through research grant submission. The subject of materials is one that has generated a lot of interest recently in government, industry and the research community. Various activities and discussions had been taking place, particularly around subject to advanced materials. Although this consultation took place in 2013, because of this dynamic background we have delayed publication so as to understand better the environment into which these recommendations will fall. It is now clear that the main conclusions, particularly those around the need to engage with users, are compatible with other initiatives. We hope that the content of the report will aid future discussions within the community. We hope this report will act as a catalyst for the research community: an encouragement to consider the contents and to react by: • devising its own plans • generating novel ideas • being open (as reviewers) to novel ideas proposed. The completion of this review and consultation is timely as its conclusions will feed into discussions by EPSRC’s Council about its future strategy for the support of advanced materials, which in turn reflects the national priority of Advanced Materials as one of the Eight Great Technologies published by David Willetts, MP (24 January 2013).

The review process The content of this report has come from discussions with the Review Panel that we established in the autumn of 2012 (the membership is given in Annexe 4). Their views were collated into a discussion document which was circulated to the community and available via the EPSRC website for comment in January 2013. This review included an analysis of the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats for materials science in the UK. As these provided the basis for the comments received from the community the analysis is reproduced at Annexe 1.

The following sections set out the background to the review, its scope (in terms of the coverage of materials science) and the interests of the US and Europe. We then go on to describe the landscapes for the EPSRC Research Areas on which the review has focused, look at the international opportunities for the UK community and set out some recommendations for future actions by EPSRC and by the community.

Background As Jonathan Adams and David Pendlebury from Evidence Ltd pointed out materials is an immensely important area as witnessed by the fact that their Global Research Report from which the quote on page 7 was taken is the first one the company have presented that investigates a specific topic. EPSRC’s Physical Sciences theme is concerned that we, and the community as a whole, do not have a clear enough view about our own strengths to capitalise on this potential. In part this is due to the fact that materials research within UK Universities is spread across a number of departments: not just Materials, but also Chemistry, Physics, Engineering, and others. This fragmentation makes it difficult to obtain a coherent view of the community’s concerns

Willetts identified Eight Great Technologies which the Government believe will propel the UK to future growth:

Unlike chemistry and physics, there does not seem to be a materials roadmap for the UK produced by any independent professional body. There is therefore an opportunity to define the areas where the UK is strong, the areas that need attention and the opportunities that are open for researchers. The EPSRC’s Physical Sciences team is seeking to encourage a more visible and collective view of the materials science priorities for the UK.

Materials research plays a key role to a greater or lesser extent in all of these – not just advanced materials and nanotechnology.

Why do we think this is necessary? Governments both here and abroad are showing an increasing interest in materials. They recognise that materials are vital to meeting local and global challenges: rebalancing economies, achieving sustainable growth and allowing smarter use of resources, including reducing waste and toxic by-products. There are also predictions that the market for value added materials, which is currently around £80 billion per year, could rise to £250 billion by 2030. The UK is in a good position to take advantage of the opportunities offered. In addition to the research excellence highlighted in this report, there is also a solid industry base. UK businesses that produce and process materials have a turnover of around £197 billion per annum, represent 15% of the country’s GDP and have exports valued at £53 billion. The UK Government recognises the importance of the area. The Department for Business Innovation and Skills (BIS) has set out its long-term approach in its Industrial Strategy UK Sector Analysis. This includes “a focus on the long-term to build sustainable growth” and recognition of the need to encourage innovation. Other agencies have also debated the area: the Technology Strategy Board has recently identified 22 key industrial developments1. Materials research will be vital in the delivery of 16 of these. In addition, Science Minister David

• The Big Data Revolution and Energy Efficient Computing • Synthetic Biology • Regenerative Medicine • Agri Science • Energy Storage for the Nation: Stockpiling Electricity • Advanced Materials and Nanotechnology • Robotics and Autonomous Systems • Satellites and Commercial Systems

As many have pointed out (such as the Materials Science and Engineering Expert Committee of the European Science Foundation2) innovation is often based on basic research. For many key areas including manufacturing, energy, healthcare and others, innovation will be based on materials research that leads to the development of new materials, tailored properties, and sustainability across the whole life-cycle. This requires pulling together new discoveries in physics and chemistry and continuing developments in modelling, simulation and processing, along with the development of strong, international science leadership to produce a vibrant and evolving materials science research community. EPSRC wishes to capitalise on this interest in a way that benefits the UK. In addition, clearly articulating what is best for UK materials science would help inform EPSRC discussions on the links between materials science supported by the Physical Sciences Theme and other EPSRC themes such as Energy, Manufacturing the Future and Engineering. An understanding of what would be best for the UK would also help inform decisions on where best to develop international links ensuring that we enter collaborative agreements with a clear idea of what the UK needs and how it would benefit from those collaborations. Looking outside of EPSRC we also need to be in a position to ensure that we, our partners (such as the Technology Strategy Board, TSB) and the community play our role in Government policy and are in a position to take advantage of the opportunities that this presents. The present Government has set growth as its top priority and a number of Departments and agencies are contributing to this agenda.

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Fundamental discoveries in physics dominated the first half of the 20th century, whereas discoveries in molecular biology, such as

the structure of DNA, dominated the second half. The 21st-century may well bring forth a new area one of revolutionary discoveries in materials research that result in far reaching changes for society and how we live.

Jonathan Adams, David Pendlebury, Global Research Report: Materials Science and Technology, June 2011

EPSRC has thus been arguing for increased investment to enable us to support a range of activities including advanced skills training for industry, new materials discovery through core research programmes, rapid translation of ideas between industry and academia, and a state-of-the-art research infrastructure. The first result of this was the announcement in 2013 by Science Minister David Willetts of a £30 million investment in equipment for Advanced Materials (alongside other aspects of the Eight Great Technologies totalling £600 million3). Other aspects of the EPSRC proposal have yet to secure support. However, even if the remainder wasfunded it would not negate the issues discussed elsewhere in this report. There is still a need to ensure that all the relevant parts of EPSRC and the research community as a whole are well connected. With that in mind, the results of this consultation, alongside

1 2 3

other activities, will contribute to EPSRC’s developing advanced materials strategy which is will centre on three main themes: • Reducing lead times: speeding up the time from research to exploitation; • Materials sustainability: being more resource efficient and less reliant on scarce materials; and • Materials discovery: creating new materials that will open new markets In addition to this report informing the debate on how these future priorities will develop there are also the results of a soon to be published survey (conducted jointly with the TSB) exploring the barriers to the exploitation of research. The survey was carried out at the 2014 Materials Research Exchange exhibition.

High Value Manufacturing Strategy www.innovateuk.org/high-value-manufacturing#strategy Materials for Key Enabling Technologies, European Materials Society/European Science Foundation, April 2011 www.gov.uk/government/news/600-million-investment-in-the-eight-great-technologies

Scope of the review

Materials science is multidisciplinary by its very nature. Its practitioners are chemists, physicists, mathematicians as well as materials scientists, all with a desire to understand the behaviour of materials and their application.

breakthroughs. By so doing we want to ensure that the UK is at the forefront of the materials revolution.

As a discipline it underpins all areas of EPSRC’s remit by pulling together chemistry, physics and maths, and underpinning and enabling advances in other areas such as energy, ICT, engineering and manufacturing. It also has links to other disciplines outside EPSRC’s remit.

• Condensed Matter: Magnetism and Magnetic Materials

The focus of the review is thus those areas covered by the Physical Sciences theme as defined by the following EPSRC research areas4:

• Functional Ceramics and Inorganics • Graphene and Carbon Nanotechnology • Materials for Energy Applications

EPSRC supports the continuum of research from fundamental research through to the application of specific materials. This support is spread across a number of themes in EPSRC: Physical Sciences, ICT, Manufacturing the Future, Engineering, Energy and Healthcare. This embedding of materials research support reflects the importance of materials science to a wide range of disciplines and application areas. The purpose of this review is to look at the current state of UK research in materials science in those areas covered by the EPSRC Physical Sciences theme in order to identify the opportunities that exist (both in the UK and internationally), suggest ways to capitalise on those opportunities and keep the community alert to emerging

• Photonic Materials and Metamaterials • Polymer Materials • Superconductivity The other Research Areas related to materials (for example those covering materials engineering or manufacturing) are not specifically excluded, but they are not the focus of this review. Where there are links to other areas these will be addressed, but it is not the purpose of this exercise to define strategies for those areas of materials that fall outside the remit of the EPSRC Physical Sciences theme. That is something that could emerge as a consequence of this review in discussion with those concerned.

Relationship of materials within physical sciences to other EPSRC themes Chemistry

Healthcare

Energy

Physics

Materials Science Engineering

ICT

Manufacturing the Future

See Annexe 1 for the description of these and other materials-related research areas.

The international context One of the drivers for this review was to understand of the opportunities available to the UK through international collaboration. Before exploring those opportunities it is worth outlining the priorities some of our collaborators and competitors are setting themselves.

OTHER COUNTRIES’ PRIORITIES There have been a number of recent reports highlighting the importance of materials and materials research. These include, from the US: Directing Matter and Energy: Five Grand Challenges for Science and the Imagination (Department of Energy, 2007); Grand Challenges for Engineering (National Academy of Engineering, 2008) Frontiers in Crystalline Matter: From Discovery to Technology (National Research Council of the National Academies, 2009); International Assessment of Research & Development in Simulation-based Engineering and Science (World Technology Evaluation Centre, January 2009); The Materials Genome Initiative for Global Competitiveness

(2011); and from Europe: Materials for Key Enabling Technologies (EMRS/ESF June 2011); Technology and Market Perspective for Future Value Added Materials (EC 2012). EPSRC has also looked at the international context of UK research: International Perceptions of the UK Materials Research Base (EPSRC, 2008). From these it seems to be clear that there is a consensus on where materials have the potential to impact on societal issues. These include sustainable economic growth, manufacturing, energy, healthcare and the environment. They also tend to agree on the technologies that will be required to realise these goals: nanotechnology, photonics, biotechnology and advanced materials. There is also agreement on some of the generic requirements to advance the area such as modelling and simulation.

The USA The US reports present a mixed picture of science needs driven by new opportunities or from the need to gain, or regain, a world leading position. For example, the US Department of Energy report sets out five Grand Challenges related to energy: • to control material processes at the level of electrons • to design and perfect atom- and energy- efficient synthesis of the revolutionary new forms of matter with tailored properties • to explore how remarkable properties of matter emerge from complex correlations of the atomic or electronic constituents and how to control the properties • to master energy and information on the nanoscale to create new technologies with capabilities rivalling those of living things • to characterise and control matter away – especially very far away – from equilibrium All of these have some relevance to materials science to a greater or lesser extent. Energy also features in the National Academy of Engineering report with two priorities particularly relevant in materials research: Make Solar Energy Economical and Provide Energy from Fusion. Materials research features

strongly in the former in particular with new materials needed to improve the efficiency and manufacturing solar cells and, for energy storage (for example supercapacitors, batteries and hydrogen storage). Providing access to clean water is another challenge identified where materials could play a role in, for example, new membrane materials for desalination. Materials simulation is another area featuring heavily in US policy recommendations. The 2011 announcement of the Materials Genome Initiative has achieved some prominence, but represents the culmination of a number of studies highlighting the potential for computers and computational methods to speed up the process of materials discovery through to eventual application. The approach is twofold: the use of computational methods to support theory, simulation and design; and, the ability to share information on materials as well as the software used in design and simulation. Interestingly, the US recognises the position of the UK in leading this area. The report notes the fact software used by US researchers was developed outside the US (mainly the UK) and that the UK’s infrastructure and ability to collaborate was a strength lacking in the US. However, it goes on to note that the support for the UK Collaborative Computing Projects that contributed to this pre-eminence are by no means secure.

The international context Europe The European Commission has identified six Key Emerging Technologies: • Advanced Materials • Photonics • Nanotechnology • Biotechnology • Micro-and Nano-Electronics • Advanced Manufacturing Systems This prompted the European Science Foundation and the European Materials Research Society to look at

the research needs underpinning these technologies in its report Materials for Key Enabling Technologies. They concluded that all are dependent on further progress in materials development, materials science and engineering. Although not specifically highlighted in the topics, the report’s authors recognise the key role that energy will play. They argue that there will be a need for efficient energy production conversion and storage and that to achieve this will also require efforts in basic and applied research and new materials.

Fibroblasts derived from human embryonic stem cells attached to protein pre-adsorbed polymer micro arrays.

Results from the consultation

Materials Science research area landscapes

To provide a structure for the Review and to focus deliberations on the areas of materials science covered by Physical Sciences theme the consultation concentrated on those EPSRC Research Areas covered by the Physical Sciences theme5: • Condensed Matter: Magnetism and Magnetic Materials • Functional Ceramics and Inorganics • Graphene and Carbon Nanotechnology • Materials for Energy Applications • Photonic Materials and Metamaterials • Polymer Materials • Superconductivity Research Areas across EPSRC will be reviewed in 2014 through a Monitoring Portfolio Evolution (MPE) exercise. The discussions captured here will form part of the input to the MPE review.

CONDENSED MATTER: MAGNETISM AND MAGNETIC MATERIALS This area covers research into magnetic materials and the fundamental principles of magnetism. This includes thin-film magnetism, magnetic phenomena, characterisation and growth of magnetic materials, ferro- and antiferro-magnetic materials and frustrated magnetic systems.

Comments There is a wide range of research opportunities in this area driven by a desire for fundamental understanding of material properties and the technological opportunities they offer. Research in this area has applications in data storage, sensors and spintronics, with work at the nano-level having biomedical applications. This provides an opportunity to link this research area to manufacturing, ICT and healthcare. Energy is another potentially important application area. Magnetic materials are used in electrical power generation and some of the opportunities include replacing heavy rare Earth elements in permanent magnets. This will also be important for applications in electric vehicles. In addition, magnetocaloric materials are important for solid-state refrigeration. Data storage is another key area and there are opportunities for the enhancement of magnetic storage media. Given the importance of the area and the presence of users (for example Seagate) in the UK the outcomes would be valuable for the UK economy.

order parameters. This would have applications in data storage. The link between magnetic and other properties (for example multi-ferroic magneto resistance materials) also needs to be understood. Research applied to switching and sensors is another important area and key to developments in electronic devices. There are opportunities at the thin-film and nanoscale. Understanding nano-magnetism and magnetic fluids could lead to the design of new materials with novel properties, novel hierarchical structures and new biomedical materials. The controlled or directed selfassembly of these materials is also an important area. There is a need to link simulations, materials design and the control of the self-assembly process to give materials with important and preferred properties. This has been achieved in colloids, liquid crystals and block co-polymers, but not in the solid state. The advance of new technologies means that it could be profitable to revisit the bulk properties of magnetic materials with modern tools and approaches. This would include multiscale modelling, innovative advanced manufacturing (additive and combinatorial) and nanoscale analysis. Finally, magnetism in biology is an area that would repay further work. It is in its early stages, but has potential applications in the development of novel sensors for environmental modelling, as well as applications in drug delivery, cell-control and cancer therapy.

Multi-ferroic materials offer challenges, for example the coupling of two distinct magnetic and electrical

See Annexe 2 for the description of these and other materials-related research areas.

13 FUNCTIONAL CERAMICS AND INORGANICS The synthesis, characterisation and theoretical understanding of functional ceramic and inorganic materials. This area includes electroceramics (including ferroelectric, multiferroic and antiferroelectrics), complex oxides, solid state materials chemistry, inorganic frameworks and porous materials. This area does not include materials for energy applications, photonic, magnetic, superconducting, polymeric or composite materials or materials processing as these are all covered in related research areas. This is a broad research area covering a wide range of materials and a diverse range of applications. There is also a broad spread research needs from the basic to the applied.

Comments There is a need for fundamental studies of structureproperty relationships, including effective treatment of local disorder. These studies are needed for the design of new materials with improved properties. We need also to advance characterisation beyond the concept of fully crystalline materials. Along with this is a need to improve multi-length scale characterisation: going beyond the atomic scale. We need new ways to design and control the production and scale up of smart materials. We also need new routes to synthesis and discovery. The role of synthetic chemistry is important here. Also needed is the development of catalysts for the production of materials as well as the use of functional ceramic and inorganic materials as catalysts. The production of these materials also presents challenges that need to be met, including, for example, the development of energy and CO2 efficient methods for manufacture, reducing the amount of scarce materials needed for particular applications and developing leadfree ceramics. The potential range of applications is huge, including the ability to store and harvest energy, chemicals and waste in molecular array environments. This will be important for industry and the environment. Glass technologies are important, involving photovoltaics, temperature control and controlling the degree of opaqueness or visibility to various wavelengths. The development of smart buildings will depend on these. Oxide, sulphide and nitride materials need further study. They have a range of potentials including oxides for high

Ceramic bubble in a porous foam prepared by assembly of responsive particles.

permittivity, capacitors, microwave devices and antennae and low-temperature co-fired ceramics. Bio-ceramics and bio-inspired materials deserve more attention. There is a lack of understanding, for example, of why particular doping strategies work. Using nature offers the potential for the design and functionalisation of materials. The development of transparent conductors and inorganic nanoparticles is important for a range of physical applications and biomedical issues such as radio isotope labelling and imaging and to support developments in plastic electronics. The study of interfaces is another important area. This includes the interfaces with organic materials where the functionalisation of the surface and self-assembly is little understood. Interfaces are also important for composite materials where there is a lack of understanding, especially at elevated temperatures. As new materials are sought to replace unsustainable resins and glues these studies will be particularly important. Modelling and simulation will also play a role here. Understanding interfaces is also important for the development of new coating technologies, particularly new functional coatings such as those for use in engines to prolong engine life or reduce fatigue. These last two topics feature in the ESF report Metallurgy Europe-a Renaissance Program for 2012-2022. Highlighting the importance of metallurgy to the European economy it lists a number of opportunities. Whilst most of these rest within EPSRCâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Engineering theme, there are a number of fundamental studies which could fall into Physical Sciences. These include modelling and simulation, characterisation, the study of grain boundaries and, surfaces and interfaces.

Materials Science research area landscapes GRAPHENE AND CARBON NANOTECHNOLOGY The synthesis, characterisation and theoretical understanding of graphene, carbon nanotubes and other carbon based nanomaterials. This area includes understanding the fundamental properties of carbon nanomaterials, development of new growth methods, understanding the influence of defects on properties and exploring possibilities for nanoscale carbon electronics. This area does not include device fabrication, carbon composite materials or materials processing as these are covered in related research areas.

Comments The UK continues to pioneer research in graphene from fundamental research to potential translation. For graphene, control of its electrical properties remains a challenge. When graphene is hybridised with other materials there is also a need to control the properties and functionality of the material. This may mean looking at specific applications. There is also a need for fundamental characterisation studies to determine what factors are affected by the material itself and what by the morphology. There are also opportunities beyond graphene in other layered materials such as molybdenum disulhide and silicene. Graphene, fullerenes and carbon nanotubes have potential uses in a wide range of application areas. It is not feasible to list them all here, but they include areas outside of electronics such as photovoltaics, energy storage, and flexible conducting electrodes. For all of these and other potential uses the challenge is scale up. High-quality synthesis in appropriate quantities is a major stumbling block. There is a similar issue for nanotubes: the processing of single wall nanotubes is

Ion-conducting gallate material for solid oxide fuel cells. Credit: Saiful Islam University of Bath.

rudimentary. Informing all of this however needs to be an understanding that the materials produced need to be processable, stable, better performing and lower cost than current materials or they will not be taken up. Too often this aspect is lost in the enthusiasm for the new materials. Another area of carbon of growing importance is CVD diamond thin films and nanoparticles. The UK is at the forefront of this research, both in research and technology. The material has a wide range of applications including electronics, heat spreaders, IR windows, sensors and bio-implants. Diamond nanoparticles also have many potential applications.

15 MATERIALS FOR ENERGY APPLICATIONS The synthesis, characterisation and theoretical understanding of functional materials to be used for energy applications. This includes fundamental studies into potential materials for photovoltaics, fuel cells, batteries and other energy storage materials. Included in this area are studies into polymeric, complex oxide, nanoionic, electrocaloric, magnetocaloric and porous materials for potential future energy applications. The research covered in this area will evolve as new technologies and materials properties emerge. This area only includes research into the materials systems for current and future energy technologies and does not include technology development which is covered in related research areas.

Comments It is difficult to overemphasise the potential impact that the development of cheap, renewable and sustainable energy resources will have on the world. This challenge is already addressed through the RCUK Energy Programme, but there is an urgent need for innovative and adventurous physical sciences research that goes beyond the priorities of this activity. There is a need for novel research to find the next generation of energy materials as well as to generate improvements to current systems. The areas that need tackling include storage, generation (including photovoltaics) and sustainability. There is a need to look at how the energy landscape could be controlled through materials. Molecular and networks of organic/inorganic hybrid systems have the potential to overtake â&#x20AC;&#x153;hardâ&#x20AC;? inorganic materials because of their flexibility. Durability could be an issue here so applications may be limited. Superconductivity continues to offer hope to revolutionise the energy landscape if high temperature superconductivity can be realised. Energy generation also offers many opportunities for novel research. Photovoltaics have perhaps the greatest potential given that there is enough sunlight to meet all our energy needs if it could be captured efficiently. Examples of research include developing artificial photosynthesis as there is currently no clear route for achieving this. Developing the next generation of

inorganic solar cells is also important. CIGS (Copper, Indium, Gallium, Selenide) based systems are forecast as a major growth area with commercial potential. Most of the current activity is outside the UK, however, although recent developments in perovskite halide absorbers have seen major contributions from UK groups. The research needs to include synthesis and characterisation: both structural and electronic. Other routes of interest include sulphides, other selenides and tellurides as photon absorbers. Energy storage is another challenge. Cheap, safe and efficient methods (including the use of hydrogen) are needed. The eventual solutions are likely to involve a range of technologies: renewables, nuclear, fuel cells as we move to a true low-carbon economy. This will require research on materials for supercapacitors and on batteries. This includes lithium ion batteries and nextgeneration technologies such as lithium-air and lithiumsulphur. For all of these technologies new electrolytes, particularly solid lithium ion conductors are important as they offer increased safety. There are also opportunities for work on sodium-iron and flow batteries which have potential in large-scale storage applications where lithium would be expensive. Novel electrolytes are also needed for fuel cells to improve cost and efficiency. Also needed will be research on new materials for intermediate temperature fuel cells which would offer benefits in terms of fuel flexibility (hydrogen or hydrocarbons). Low-cost electrodes are also needed as are strategies for mitigating the long-term stability issues that are encountered at high temperature. Hydrogen is another key area. Research is needed on materials storage and routes to production. This includes new catalysts for hydrogen production. Allied to this is the challenge of developing ways of producing hydrocarbons from water and carbon dioxide. Energy harvesting offers opportunities, but will need new materials: thermoelectric, vibrational, photo-effects, etc. The goal would be the development of self-powered systems.

Materials Science research area landscapes PHOTONIC MATERIALS AND METAMATERIALS Research into the synthesis, characterisation and theoretical understanding of photonic materials i.e. materials which can mould the flow of light under certain conditions. This area includes: liquid crystals, photonic crystals, metamaterials, organic and inorganic semiconductors. This area does not include materials for energy applications, electroactive ceramics or polymers or material integration into devices. This research is included in related research areas. This topic which can broadly be described as photonic materials covers the synthesis, characterisation and theory of materials which mould the flow of light and/or emit/transmit light upon electrical stimulus.

Comments Research into materials that can mould the flow of light is an area where the UK has led the world. To maintain this position will require research in all areas from discovery to application and including simulation. The growth of data and the need for technologies such as low-power lighting (including phosphors for low energy, solid state lighting), means the research and technology needs to keep pace with demand. There is scope for research in polymers and gels: materials that are designed (or confirmed) to act as photonic metamaterials. Such materials will have advantages over their inorganic counterparts because of their easy manipulation and fabrication. There is also interest in small molecules and oligomeric compounds. This includes molecular systems that can be assembled with an evolution of their properties with length scale. The development of non-equilibrium materials (materials whose properties can be controlled like living organisms) is also of interest. Also needed are novel methods of fast switching and new display materials. This includes is fast switching LCDs with greater pixel density and low energy consumption than currently. The development of metamaterials needs to expand to include the idea of adapting material properties through nano-structuring. Also required are metamaterials in the visible light wavelengths. â&#x20AC;&#x192;

Simulation of electric energy density of TE045 microwave mode in a cylindrical Distributed Bragg reflector resonator. Credit: Dr Jonathan Breeze

17 POLYMER MATERIALS Research into the synthesis, characterisation and theoretical understanding of novel polymer materials. This area includes studies into novel polymer synthesis, polymer drug delivery, polymer nanocomposites, responsive polymers, block co-polymers and soft nanotechnology. This area does not include research into polymers for energy applications or photonic polymers, this research is included in related research areas.

Comments Polymer chemistry and polymer-based materials science are currently vibrant in the UK and have a strong international reputation. This discipline is largely outwardfacing and highly collaborative: many of the polymer community interact fruitfully with biologists, pharmacists, medics, chemical engineers, and other engineeringbased disciplines, for example those in the area of additive manufacturing. Polymer scientists are central in the area of new biomaterials, as well as having multiple close links with industry (including both UK-based SMEs, UK-based blue chip companies such as BP, Syngenta, AkzoNobel, Synthomer, AstraZeneca, GSK, Unilever, Croda, Merck Chemicals, etc.) and overseas companies such as BASF, Dow and Exxon. Polymer scientists are actively involved in addressing many EPSRC Grand Challenges, such as Energy, Healthcare, Synthetic Biology etc. The research embraces nanotechnology and advanced materials, rather than traditional materials science/polymer composites. There remain plenty of opportunities for innovation as well as research that links fundamental studies to engineering disciplines to improve the chances of eventual application. Among the opportunities synthesis and characterisation remain important. There is always a need for new polymer-based technologies. This includes methods for controlled or directed self-assembly. There is also a need to control crystallinity and solubility. It is thus important to develop precision synthesis methods so as to achieve robust and scalable routes to production. This will lead to better control of the structure property relationships in complex polymer systems. In terms of application areas, polymers are vital in so many aspects of our daily life, such that a review of this nature could not list them all. Correspondents have highlighted a number of key areas, however. Healthcare is a vital topic for research. Polymers have a role to play both as biomaterials (for example in regenerative medicine) and as drug delivery agents

(drug delivery is a materials problem). Another important application is the development of materials to limit the spread of infections. Related to this is the development of new materials at the interface between chemistry and biology. Studies here have applications for industries such as pharmaceuticals, agrichemicals and paints. Indeed, this area is seen as one of great promise where they should be stronger links to biology to enable the development of new bio-inspired materials and biomimetics. The electrical properties of polymers also have potential applications. Electroactive polymers could have roles in actuating and sensing. Dielectric elastomers have uses as artificial muscles. The development of conducting polymeric materials and nanomaterials with defined functionalities that can be processed and scaled up are critical for the growth of the organic and printed electronic sectors. Flexible and stretchable electronic materials have the potential to enable the deployment of sensor arrays on unusual substrates, for example touch sensitive visual displays, artificial skins for robotics, body contact sensors, and engineering applications such as reducing drag. There is a need for thermally stable polymers, including composites, which can function at high temperatures. This will need a better understanding of the conduction process in polymers including the relationship between crystalline and amorphous phases. The need to realise the potential graphene and carbon nanotechnology has been mentioned elsewhere. The development of nano-structured arrays of other polymeric materials offer the possibility to develop the next generation of functional arrays from ceramics and inorganics which, in turn, would aid the functionalisation graphene and carbon nanotubes. The production and manufacturing of polymers is still worthy of novel thinking. New, efficient catalysts and processes are needed, not just for new polymers, but also for current commodity and engineering polymers. This needs to include better links between synthesis and bulk properties. There is also an urgent need for resource efficient polymer synthesis, for example production from materials other than petroleum. The need to link research in the physical sciences to application has been highlighted, particularly with respect to composites. We need to foster a research culture that brings together scientists and engineers at an early stage.

Materials Science research area landscapes SUPERCONDUCTIVITY Research into the synthesis, characterisation and understanding of the properties of novel superconductor materials and devices. This area includes, for example, research into materials such as Magnesium diboride (MgB2), Iron-based materials, multi-functional oxides and cuprates. Some of the research into materials with superconducting and/or magnetic properties may be covered under Functional Ceramics and Inorganics with some internationally recognised researchers having moved into these areas e.g. functional oxide materials.

Comments The UK has recognised strengths in superconductivity and the area has the potential to be transformative if the goal of high temperature superconductivity can be realised. The phenomenon has the potential to revolutionise scientific and industrial applications in sectors such as energy, environment and healthcare. The materials have applications in electronics, magnetic and multiferroic applications, energy transmission and storage, quantum transistors, spintronics and junction technology. The Research Area is directly relevant

to applications in three of the 8 Great Technologies: Advanced Materials and Nanotechnology; Energy Storage for the Nation; and, the Big Data Revolution. Superconductors can be nano-structured and thin film materials, novel metallic materials or functional oxides. They can be combined with multi-ferroic or ferromagnets to produce novel properties. UK researchers have the skills in the growth, advance characterisation and theoretical understanding of superconducting and related strongly correlated electron materials. We are also strong in developing advanced organic superconducting and magnetic materials. These offer the potential of allowing properties to be tuned. Similarly the UK is world leading in the development of superconducting electronics and hybrid magneticsuperconducting technologies. These materials have applications in areas such as quantum computing, quantum and spin-based electronics and artificial advanced functional materials.

Maser Pump source test: Image is of a cerium doped YAG jewel illuminated with light from blue laser diode; the intense lemon fluorescence thereby generated can be absorbed by the pentacene maser molecule. Very high blue-->yellow conversion efficiency. Credit: Dr Mark Oxborrow (Imperial College)

19 GENERIC PRIORITIES A number of areas were highlighted that are important for materials science as generic topics. They do not relate to a single area, but have applications in a number. One general point cuts across all the themes and research areas: materials should not be pigeon-holed by known applications. Further investigations of other properties should be encouraged as these could lead to new applications.

MODELLING AND SIMULATION The UK’s strengths in this area have already been noted as has the topic’s importance to a number of areas noted. It is therefore worth drawing out the general messages. It should not be forgotten that modelling and simulation is not a topic to be pursued in isolation. The work has to be conducted alongside experimentation. First, there is a view that the UK community is well on the way to creating a general purpose “black box” for multiscale simulations. Its realisation will only require a modest amount of effort. Still needed, however, is work along the length scales. There is also need to focus on materials function including the prediction of the performance of complex engineering materials. Related to this is a need to model materials processing. One goal of research in this area would be to enable the design of new materials based on the performance needs of a particular application. Although this area is important, it must not be forgotten that results have to be linked to experimental validation and the development of new materials. Finally, there has been much discussion generated by the establishment of the US Materials Genome Initiative (MGI). As noted above, the UK is currently well placed in this area. However, there is a view that there are advantages to being part of the MGI in order to ensure that there is a universal database to support materials Informatics. We should explore the opportunities.

SUSTAINABILITY There is a generic need to consider the sustainability of our use of materials. This includes looking at ways to remove reliance on scarce or strategically controlled elements, for example the use of dysprosium for high energy permanent magnets. Awareness of this issue should be part of all thinking as new materials are developed.

BIOMATERIALS There is a view that the UK is not taking advantage of its strengths in this area. Too much current research is based on variants of existing materials. In addition, innovation is stifled by an “only research if approved” mentality. Research needs to come forward on novel materials and to be more creative in its approach.

NANOTECHNOLOGY The community needs to look beyond Graphene & Carbon Nanotechnology. There are applications for non-polymeric nanotechnology such as inert metal nanoparticles and quantum dots for optical materials, that the UK is in danger of missing. In Europe, for example, molecular chemistry is coming together with mesoscale research. This is a development that needs to be encouraged in the UK. Various areas would benefit from such an approach including optical materials, nanoparticles at the interface with biology, medicine, and nano- devices in healthcare.

TRAINING A number of points were made about training. First there is a concern that engineers often do not appreciate the properties of plastic materials. This leads to a risk of opportunities being missed as the use of materials is hampered by an inability to understand their characteristics. Some of this could be addressed by looking at examples of the methods and techniques practised by end users. For example, exploring how some of the Asian display technology companies use materials for mass produced devices. Such studies would improve the skills of both researchers and students to the benefit of the UK’s advanced manufacturing. For materials research and application more generally the UK needs to ensure that it is producing people with three core competencies. These are the ability to: • synthesise new materials • characterise and measure the properties of materials, and • simulate materials and theorise about them.

International opportunities There are many factors driving a desire to carry out research collaboratively with counterparts in other countries not least that many of society’s greatest challenges are global and will require global efforts to find solutions. Other reasons include improving the quality, scope and critical mass of research by linking human and financial resources to those in other countries. In a global economy, scientific collaboration can also help enhance international competitiveness or raise the profile of the host nation with potential investors. There are also political benefits to collaboration such as the contribution to better diplomatic relations between countries.

collaborate between countries, perhaps through bilateral agreements with the appropriate national funding agencies

International links are also important in enabling the UK to maintain its internationally leading position. Given the constrained budget for science in the UK we need to learn to do things more cleverly and with fewer resources. Strong international links will help this. The best and most sustainable partnerships are those built on common interests and complementary abilities and resources.

ASIA

It is also important to be aware of the interests and activities of our potential partners so as to identify new opportunities for research and collaboration.

In terms of opportunities, a number of topics were mentioned: • Germany: magnetism, plastic electronics, thermoelectrics • Switzerland: photo catalysis, solar energy, thermoelectrics ,novel manufacturing processes for polymers and ceramics • Sweden: batteries, composites, cellulosic products.

China naturally featured heavily in these discussions. It has invested a considerable amount in science, including infrastructure, over the last 15 years. As a result it is now not just producing vast numbers of publications, but producing science with an international impact, particularly in materials research. Its increasingly modern manufacturing base is also facilitating knowledge transfer. This could provide opportunities for UK researchers to scale up their research as well as opportunities to encourage inward investment by linking Chinese companies to the UK research base.

All of these, to a greater or lesser extent, can be applied to research in the materials sciences. From the research community’s perspective, however, improving the quality, scope and critical mass research will be the main one. In the original consultation document, therefore, we asked for views on the international collaboration opportunities.

Graphene, energy materials, superconductivity and polymers were all mentioned as areas of Chinese strength. For polymers, it was noted that China’s investment in basic polymer research now outstrips that of the UK.

EUROPE

Other Asian countries where links could be stronger in materials research are:

Europe shares many common interests with UK across the broad range of materials topics as can be seen in the ESF Materials for Key Enabling Technologies report referred to on page 10.

• Japan: graphene, organic photovoltaics, plastic electronics, displays and electronics

In the consultation, Germany, France, Switzerland, Sweden and Spain were highlighted as countries where more and stronger links should be encouraged. Alongside this, was the expressed need for the development of better methods of supporting collaborative research in Europe. There is a considerable amount of collaborative effort carried out under the auspices of the European Commission Framework programmes. However, these require more than two countries to be involved as well is a mix of academic and industrial partners. What is needed are better routes to support collaboration between individual groups. It is currently difficult to fund these kind of links. We need to find ways of making it easier for individuals to

• Singapore: nanocarbon and nanoparticle catalysis

• Korea & Taiwan: displays, nanomaterials, electronics and plastic electronics

USA Given its international standing in all areas the US is clearly an important partner. There is already a great deal of collaboration underway, but we should remain alert for new opportunities, such as the Materials Genome Initiative (MGI).

BRAZIL Brazil was highlighted as being of long-term importance. Its current “Science without Borders” programme could provide opportunities and would be worth exploring.

Density-dependent colour scanning electron micrographs (DDC-SEM) of human aortic valve tissue. Surface of aortic valve presenting calcium phosphate. Micrographs were coloured in post-processing by combing images acquired by secondary and backscatter electron detectors. The blue colour identifies denser material (calcium phosphate), while structures that appear in red are less dense (organic component). Image has been mirrored.

For all collaborations, however, we should be looking to make sure the links provide a gain for the UK and be clear about why we are entering a given agreement. Where there are clear advantages to the other partner (such as the UKâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; s strengths in modelling and simulation in relation to the US) we should be clear about the terms of any engagement and have a rationale for the collaboration. We also need to be aware of political and other considerations such as the risk of IP infringement, or the effect of local laws on our ability to collaborate effectively (such as the US International traffic in Arms Regulation (ITAR) which has been used to protect US domestic manufacturing).

EPSRCâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s grants process is flexible enough to provide the resources for quality applications involving international collaboration to be funded. This includes small grants to enable collaborations to be explored. However, there may be countries and research areas that are neglected, perhaps through lack of knowledge. A more concerted effort might be needed in such cases. Developing a coherent view of the opportunities and priorities for international collaboration would be useful in this regard. It would enable a rational approach to collaboration, one that avoids the risk of following the lead set by others into research collaborations that may not be appropriate.

Linking research and application We have talked at several points in this report about the need for adventure. What is often missing is the connection to end use. The point was made by many correspondents that ambition and reality are disconnected and there is not the will to pull research through to application. Materials research needs to be translated at some point to an end use. In addition awareness of end uses can inform basic research by suggesting areas of science that need further investigation. The question is how to ensure that exciting materials science is encouraged and then translated into transformative technologies: forging the links from new materials, through fabrication and integration, to end use. This presents two challenges: one for EPSRC and one for the community. EPSRC needs to make sure that there are effective links between the Physical Sciences theme and others that have interests in materials, such as Manufacturing the Future and, Engineering, and, outside EPSRC, TSB. This is not just to ensure that no project “falls down the cracks”, but also to make sure that research policy is coordinated and promulgated appropriately.

manufacturing, processing, fabrication and structural integrity. That section of the research community needs to be better connected to the physical sciences. This includes new opportunities for modelling and simulation where research needs links to experimental validation and work on structure-property-processing relationships. The availability of these new tools could also allow further studies of a more fundamental nature. For example, studies of magnetic materials as noted on page 12 (Condensed Matter). The link to end use is not the only one that needs to function. We also need to ensure that creativity in materials science is driven by access to the state of the art in chemistry and physics. The communities do not talk the same language which is often a barrier. Perhaps these issues could be tackled via a Grand Challenge?

The other challenge is for the community. Whilst the support of basic science and the generation of new knowledge is important, the community also needs to be more active in ensuring take-up of its results. This does not mean a shift to applied research. Rather, the community should look at the “pathways to impact” for their research: not just considering where a research idea might have impact, but thinking about what the impact might be and requesting the resources within an application to achieve it. This could include developing links with other academic disciplines through subsequent collaborative research proposals. Some examples of application domains where novelty is required include those given in the Materials for Energy Applications section, above. Elsewhere some of the Healthcare end uses have also been touched on, particularly in Polymers and Soft Matter. Materials research will also have a significant impact in biomedical diagnostics, implantation technologies, nano-medicine and biomedical devices. Another area that needs attention is the link to Engineering and Manufacturing. A particular opportunity is the development of new tools and techniques. These are providing an opportunity to revisit the fundamental understanding of material properties and processes such as durability, corrosion and fatigue. They also provide an opportunity to carry out new basic studies in metallurgy. As a discipline, metallurgy is fundamental to advanced

Lithium-ion transport in phosphate-based battery material. Credit: Saiful Islam University of Bath.

Creativity and innovation: encouraging adventure Another problem that has been commented on, not just in this consultation, but also by members of the Physical Sciences grants panels, is the lack of adventure in many materials science research proposals as compared to those in physics and chemistry. As examples, consider two recent calls aimed at encouraging novel research: the “Energy & Physical Sciences” call in the autumn of 2012 and the 2013 “Nanoscale Design of Functional Materials” Big Pitch. Both aimed at encouraging creative, innovative research, but the results were disappointing. Whilst high-quality proposals were received, the majority had failed to engage with the spirit of the calls. The starkest example was the Big Pitch. Out of 159 applications it was a struggle to find enough that met the Call’s criteria. Why is this? Is the community naturally risk averse? Or has past reviewer behaviour in being reluctant to support

adventurous research driven a tendency towards safer proposals? Part of the problem might lie in the fact that much materials research has the potential to be immediately useful. The area as a whole thus becomes a victim of its own success and more speculative work is less likely to be supported precisely because there is a clearer short-term payoff of work that can be done instead. This dilemma does not apply to some of the other areas in physical sciences. Whatever the reason, the community does need to become more creative if the UK is to maintain its position. One possible solution suggested in the consultation was the establishment of a “light touch peer review” stream, limited to £100k for the exploration of radically new ideas (not feasibility studies, which are not in themselves necessarily radical).

Grand challenges The consultation document suggested that some of the issues identified by the original Review Panel might be addressed through a Materials Grand Challenge. Three were suggested by the Panel: Towards Tomorrow’s Materials (which would draw together a range of materials issues including discovery, modelling and simulation and, applications); Prediction of 3-D Structure; and, Old Challenges, New Ideas (applying modern techniques to old challenges that were put aside as being intractable at the time. Ideas suggested by the consultation included: Translation

of basic physical principles to engineering materials: investigating how to bring materials into practical use; Next generation materials characterisation; and, an expansion of one of the originals, Materials by design: prediction of 3-D structures and properties. The generic priorities on page 19 might also be a source of topics. As there is only agreement on the utility of a Grand Challenge in Materials, deciding on its nature will have to be the topic of a future discussion.

Setting priorities and filling the gaps Several correspondents cited EPSRC policy as being responsible for reductions in funding for certain areas, for example metallurgy, or an inability to attract basic science into particular application areas, for example physicists applying their knowledge to structural materials. EPSRC has no specific policies in these areas, no hidden agendas. It is true that through Shaping Capability we have been seeking to influence the balance of the entire portfolio by adjusting certain areas in order to deal rationally with the pressures imposed by a declining budget in real terms. By and large, however, such priority setting is broadly based across a small number of Research Areas: the majority are set at â&#x20AC;&#x153;maintainâ&#x20AC;?.

Which specific applications are supported is down to the quality, as judged by peer review, and the availability of funds. If areas are missing from the portfolio it either reflects the fact that proposals have not been submitted, or, if they have, that they have not been supported by peer review. The previous sections have highlighted a number of research opportunities. The following suggests ways in which important and emerging areas might be highlighted for support.

Pulling together: generating a community voice One point that emerged from the consultation is the fact that members of the UK materials community no longer talk to each other as frequently as in the past. There used to be regular, UK-based meetings but these have more or less disappeared. The UK research community seems to prefer to attend international meetings. Whilst this is important for keeping abreast of international activities, it does mean that there is now no forum for the exchange of ideas for the UK community. We suggest that it might be timely to resurrect the concept of a UK Materials Research meeting. Such UK-based meetings could serve a number of purposes: showcasing research to others (including potential users); generating a community-based view of strategy which would help inform funding agencies, amongst others; helping communications between funding agencies and the community; and, providing a platform for industry to set out the challenges they face.

Simulation of electric energy density of TE045 microwave mode in a cylindrical Distributed Bragg reflector resonator. Credit: Dr Jonathan Breeze

Conclusions Governments worldwide are recognising the importance of materials in meeting societal challenges such as sustainable economic growth, manufacture, better healthcare and clean energy. Our consultation has demonstrated the that materials science research in the UK is buoyant and world-class. It has underlined the importance of materials to meeting these challenges as well as highlighting the opportunities for innovation and improvement in a wide range of technologies including data storage, sensors, catalysts, energy generation storage and harvesting, switching, display materials, biomaterials … and the list goes on.

• Modelling and simulation especially along the length scales. There is a need to develop methods to predict the performance of complex engineering materials. • Addressing the challenge of durability in organic energy materials, in order for their promise to be realised. • Studies at the interface of chemistry and biology as these hold out the promise of new bio-inspired materials and biomimetics. • Encouraging innovation in the discovery and development of new biomaterials. • Nanotechnology looking beyond Graphene and carbon. For example bringing together molecular chemistry with mesoscale research. • Ensuring that the UK has people with the core competencies of materials synthesis, materials characterisation, and simulation and theory.

INTERNATIONAL OPPORTUNITIES Priority countries vary between research areas, but in general there would be benefit in having better links with: • Europe: Germany, France, Switzerland, Sweden, Spain • Asia: China, Japan, Korea, Taiwan and Singapore • Americas: USA, Brazil In addition easier ways of supporting collaboration are needed, especially in Europe and outside of Framework programmes. In all collaborations we need a clear rationale for establishing the links such as being clear about what the UK would gain.

APPLICATION OF RESEARCH • Better ways need to be found to translate discovery through to application.

Ion-conducting apatite material for solid oxide fuel cells. Credit: Saiful Islam, University of Bath.

Actions

The purpose of this report has not been to set priorities, but rather to stimulate discussion about the future of UK materials research. So, whilst suggesting the directions research could take, we are not recommending priorities. There are however a number of areas where action could be taken by EPSRC and where we could facilitate.

1 The review has focused on materials science covered by EPSRC’s Physical Sciences theme. With limited resources we need to:

a) ensure that the appropriate links are made and discussions had with other EPSRC themes; and

b) discuss how a broader view of materials research opportunities for the UK could be obtained.

2 We need to find ways of working with our counterparts overseas, especially in Europe, to make it easier for collaborative research to be supported.

3 There would be an advantage to having a UK materials meeting. A focus for such an event could include discussion of some of the issues raised in the consultation. For example:

• UK currently has a lead in modelling and simulation internationally: how can we ensure this is maintained?

• How do we encourage basic and applied research on new materials to realise the opportunities and energy applications?

• What are the opportunities offered by international collaboration and what should be the priorities?

• How do we strike a balance between fundamental and applied research?

• How do we encourage adventurous and innovative research?

4 How can EPSRC and the research community work together to ensure that the results of research supported brought to the attention of potential users.

Acknowledgements EPSRC expresses its thanks to the Review Panel who provided the ground work for the earlier consultation document (see Annexe 4), and to the Institute of Materials , Minerals and Mining and the Materials KTN for helping with the circulation of the consultation document to the community. Finally, we thank those members of the community who took the time to complete the questionnaire and whose responses have formed the basis of this report: Adrian Sutton Imperial College NE Baldwin Welding Institute Leslie Barnard retired Jon Binner University of Loughborough Jeremy Baumberg University of Cambridge John Berry Mississippi State University, USA Chris Bowen University of Bath Robert Bowman Queens University Belfast S P Brown University of Warwick John Campbell University of Birmingham David Cardwell University of Cambridge Kuangnan Chi Doosan Babcock James Clarke Invest Northern Ireland Condensed Matter Imperial College Theory Group Richard Court National Renewable Energy Centre Peter Cracknell PSC Associates Ltd Christina Doyle Xeno Medical Judith Driscoll University of Cambridge Eric Wilson University of Sheffield John Evans University of Durham Julian Evans University College London Experimental Solid-State Imperial College Physics Group Gerhard Goldbeck Goldbeck Consulting John Goodby University of York Kalpana Gosai Jaguar Land Rover Mark Goulding Merck Malte Grosche University of Cambridge Christopher Grovenor University of Oxford Zhongwei Guan University of Liverpool Eileen Harkin-Jones Queens University Belfast Richard Harris University of Bath Nicholas Harrison, Milo Imperial College Shaffer, James Durrant & John Seddon David Haugh DSTL Wayne Hayes University Reading Steve Howdle University of Nottingham Mohammad Sakhawat Saudi Petrochemical Company Hussein Jennifer Jennings University of Bristol Richard Jones University of Sheffield Jong Min Kim University of Oxford Peter Lee University of Manchester Stephen Lee University of St Andrews

Scott Lockyer EON Davide Mariotti Ulster University Christopher Marrows University of Leeds Ronan McGrath University of Liverpool Neil McKeown University of Cardiff Peter Miodownik University of Surrey Robert Mitchell Rolls-Royce Andrew Nicoll Thermal Spray Alain Nogaret University of Bath Rachel Oâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;Reilly University of Warwick Ivan Parkin University College London Mike Payne University of Cambridge L P Pook retd (formerly UCL) David Porter University of Oxford W M Rainforth University of Sheffield Paul Raithby University of Bath Robert Reid National Physical Laboratory Stephen Rimmer University of Sheffield Ian Robinson University College London Royal Society of Chemistry Macro Group Committee Michael Shaver University of Edinburgh Ravi Silva University of Surrey Peter Skabara University of Glasgow Peter Slater University of Birmingham Michael Hicks Rolls-Royce Ian Smith University of New Brunswick, Canada Sandra Spencer University of the West of England Thirumany Sitharan Nanyang Technical University, Singapore Fred Starr retd (formerly British Gas & ERA Technology) James Sullivan University of Swansea Norman Swindells Ferroday Ltd Thomas Thomson University of Manchester James Trainor IOM3 A S Trew University of Edinburgh I M Ward University of Leeds Scott Waterhouse Mike Waters MWS BV Roger Whatmore Tyndall Institute, Ireland Christopher Whitehead University of Manchester Andrew Williams Wood Group Gas Turbine Services Simon Woodward University of Nottingham Andrew Wright Glyndwr University

Annexe 1: The initial review STRENGTHS IN UK MATERIALS SCIENCE The UK has a vibrant research base in materials science. Moreover this base has both breadth and depth. The UK community is good at collaborating not only with other disciplines, but also with industry. A number of research areas are highlighted as of particular strength: • Fundamental understanding of complex inorganic materials. This includes structural and functional ceramics, for example ferroics (ferroelectrics), magnetism, bulk materials and thin films (oxides and non-oxides) and their synthesis. • Polymeric materials. The UK has focused strengths in this area, for example in organic electronics. • Theory and simulation of materials. The UK is strong in this area which is an important component in materials discovery. UK’s software is used by our competitors the world over. The UK also scores because of its ability to link theory to synthesis and experiment. • Materials discovery and processing into functional devices. • Graphene. With two Nobel Prize winners and many other groups including researchers in other disciplines involved, such as engineering, the UK is well placed to devise ways of exploring this potentially versatile material. • Energy materials are another area of strength in the UK, particularly materials for conversion (photovoltaics, fuel cells) and storage (batteries). Many challenges still exist, so the area remains important. • Other areas include exotic materials, for example superconductivity (where there is a need for better understanding of existing materials to enable the planned design of higher temperature systems), the identification of new materials by synthesis, and novel properties at interfaces and biomaterials. The UK also has strengths in infrastructure to support materials research, such as characterisation facilities (eg Diamond) and the collaborative links that exist between academia and industry.

WEAKNESSES There are some general weaknesses in the UK environment which will need to be addressed if we are to maintain our current leading position. The funding infrastructure is one. To remain internationally competitive it is important to sustain a critical mass of research and to maintain continuity in research programmes. The recent funding environment has constrained this ability and has been exacerbated by additional restrictions on capital equipment, provision of which is vital if the UK is to function at an international level. Whilst collaboration and sharing have provided some alleviation it can only be a stopgap. Investment in new equipment will be needed to secure the UK’s position. Investment in people is also important, starting with training. There is a general need for an adequate supply of PhD students to provide the next generation of researchers and skilled people the industry will need if materials science is to fulfil its promise of revitalising the economy. There are some particular needs for training. The UK’s leading position in modelling and simulation has already been mentioned, but needs development to enable modelling and simulation at the mesoscale and thus the application of the techniques to mechanical and materials engineering. This requires an understanding of behaviour. At present, even if money was available for a research initiative in the area, it would be a struggle to find suitable people as insufficient numbers of postgraduates are being trained in the subject. Characterisation is another area that lacks skills. The key techniques of materials science (electron microscopy, spectrometry, NMR, XRD) require skilled people to operate and interpret. The UK has an age problem currently and there are not enough young people coming through to form the next generation of specialists. Beyond the PhD, Fellowships are also important. One area in particular that has been highlighted where early career support could be crucial is measurement. Interpretation is a vital skill in this area and requires an understanding of materials behaviour. Another issue is the difficulty for those involved in applying the techniques to have their contribution recognised when the research is challenge-led. It is thus difficult for those involved in characterisation to have a sustained career.

29 Fellowships can provide an important component of a career path for young experimentalists. Also needed are ways to pull innovation through to the higher levels of technology readiness. This includes enabling prototype devices to be built from new materials and providing facilities for testing materials and devices, for example batteries. Ensuring better links to Advanced Manufacturing Centres could form part of the answer. These kinds of facilities could be particularly important in the short term because of the decreasing manufacturing capability in the UK. The companies that are left focus on immediate delivery of applications, which can be a barrier to collaboration. Amongst topic areas of concern Nanoscience was highlighted. There has been a large investment over the last 10 years but there has been a lack of connectivity between research focussed on nanoscale properties and more conventional approaches in materials science and characterisation. Materials preparation is another weakness in the UK community. There is a lack of facilities for high quality materials preparation for both bulk and thin films synthesis. This contrasts with the situation with our competitors, especially Japan and Germany. On the subject of the international context, there is a lack of collaboration with some key international players. China in particular is singled out. It is already an important player in materials and the UK could be doing more to strengthen links. We also face increasing competition from emerging nations and should be identifying which are the key countries and building appropriate research ties. There is also need to look at ways of improving researchersâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; ability to collaborate internationally. Given our membership of the EU one would expect it to be easier to build links with European countries. However the Commission focuses on large multilateral programme and the overhead in getting involved in the multi-lateral programmes the Commission supports is too high. What is needed are simplified mechanisms to enable individuals to collaborate. We need to develop unilateral agreements between countries to make the process of collaboration easier. Putting in place simple mechanisms between the UK and France and Germany could have a big impact.

OPPORTUNITIES Collaboration: across disciplines, academia/industry and internationally The UK community is generally open to collaboration across disciplines, institutions and between academia and industry. This is in contrast to many of our competitors. Researchers in many other countries have difficulty in crossing the boundaries or have national laboratories where there is an inertia to overcome (which also reduces the flexibility to pursue new lines of research). The UKâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s flexibility in this regard is a key strength. This puts us in a good position to strengthen links between academia and small and large companies in order to speed up the time of exploitation from research to technology application. This is vital as materials research is the route by which step (rather than incremental) changes will be delivered. This will help achieve, for example, the nextgeneration manufacturing technologies. The UK is leading in many areas that are important to a knowledge-based economy. Other countries are threatening this position, but we could offset that threat by collaborating more internationally, particularly with countries in Asia. Such collaborations could also help drive inward investment by exposing foreign companies to the strength and vibrancy of the UK research base. However such connectivity is only useful if we can remain competitive.

Modelling and simulation To develop materials science it will be important to invest in improvements in modelling an simulation, the synthesis new materials, including growth and synthesis of bulk materials and crystals and thin films as well as scalable manufacturing and nano-fabrication techniques. Modelling and simulation is an important technique that again links all themes and is fundamental for the continued and accelerated progress of materials research.

Synthesis To enhance the ability to control the synthesis of materials including enhanced understanding of structure-propertycomposition relationships and better interactions between predictive theory and the various available experimental synthetic methods.

Annexe 1: The initial review Characterisation and measurement Also important is the need to continue to invest in physical characterisation (where the UK has strengths), including the use of sophisticated techniques some of which have yet to be extensively applied to materials problems. These include HR-TEM, EPR (electron paramagnetic resonance) spectroscopy, which can be used, for example, to explore defects in diamond; SS-NMR (solid state nuclear magnetic resonance) which has applications in the study of catalysis; and spectroscopies such as optical spectroscopy, SIMS (secondary ion mass) and HR-XPS (high resolution x-ray photoelectron). These are not widely used by the community but their application to materials science could be highly important and give the UK the edge on the competition. Building collaborations with other areas of chemistry and physics research would help extend the techniques to provide better analysis of soft matter (polymers, tissues). Characterisation will aid the understanding of structure and thus how to measure it over multiple length scales. Better characterisation facilities in universities would also assist UK industry. The demise of corporate laboratories means that industry will need access to the state-of-the-art characterisation facilities in universities to underpin the measurement, characterisation and interpretation materials in sectors such as manufacturing and energy.

Support for research leaders We need to ensure that research leaders are supported. This includes encouraging overseas leaders to set up in the UK.

Topics In terms of research topics there are opportunities to improve and strengthen research in areas such as polymers, energy (for example clean energy, energy transport, storage) sustainability (polymers from non-petrochemical sources, replacing scarce elements) and materials to support healthcare (stem cells, regenerative medicine) and simulation and modelling where the UK has a world leader.

THREATS Funding is a key threat. Research funding in the UK is reducing in stark contrast to our competitors who are increasing investment in science. This year saw the UK’s spending on research as a share of GDP fall below that of China for the first time. With restrictions on funding come threats: • the possibility that resources will be given preferentially to projects with an “application” rather than basic research • a focus on larger projects as being more “cost-effective” as opposed to smaller projects. This jeopardises flexibility and innovation • lack of long-term funding for the physical understanding of materials. Allied to this is the propensity for peer review to be risk averse and to back “safe” projects as they are perceived as better value for money. This stifles originality and encourages short-termism. Reductions in funding could also lead to shortages of PhD places for domestic and overseas students. UK institutions already find it difficult to attract and hold the best overseas students. We have already noted the shortage of skills. Reduction in PhD places in turn reduces the supply postdoctoral researchers and thus the next generation of research leaders. This is especially true if Fellowships are not available to support early career researchers. UK also faces a shortage of young researchers with skills in metallurgy, composites, polymers, and modelling at the mesoscale. There are also shortages of experimentalists across all areas. Young people need to be able to see a clear career path. In part connected to reduced funding is a danger of research focusing on new, “hot” topics. Whilst emerging areas, like graphene, do need support, it should be made clear to researchers (and peer review) that research on existing materials is still needed and remains important.

31 If the UK cannot maintain a critical mass of researchers it will lose out to the international competition whose level increased level of investment will attract the best researchers to move. We need to recognise that we are in competition with other countries in terms of the scale of investment and attractiveness. Not just the traditional competitors such as the US (where, for example, the Department of Energy is investing heavily in materials research) or Germany, but also the emerging economies of China and South Korea. For example, earlier this year the latter established a number of Institutes of Basic Science with a budget of US $4.4 billion over the next five years. The aim is to encourage more adventurous and creative research. At least four of these are in the materials area. The outsourcing of discoveries (allowing exploitation to take place overseas) also risks damaging the UKâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s reputation. If we cease to appear attractive there will be a knock-on effect: a reduction in investment in new industry (as the UK is seen as being uncompetitive) and a loss of research leaders as innovative researchers either do not come here or the existing ones leave.

Annexe 2: EPSRC physical sciences theme: Materials Science rationales There are six Research Areas key to the Physicals Sciences themes coverage of Materials Science: • Condensed matter: magnetism and magnetic materials • Functional ceramics and inorganics • Graphene and carbon nanotechnology • Materials for energy applications • Photonic materials and metamaterials • Polymer materials Their definitions and the Rationales for their support are given below. More details can be found on the EPSRC website www.epsrc.ac.uk/research along with details of other materials-related areas that are the responsibilities of other parts of the Physical Sciences theme (Physics and Chemistry) or other themes (for example Energy, Engineering).

CONDENSED MATTER: MAGNETISM AND MAGNETIC MATERIALS Related themes:

ICT, Physical sciences Research into magnetic materials and fundamental principles of magnetism. Includes thin film magnetism, magnetic phenomena, characterisation and growth of magnetic materials, ferro and antiferromagnetic materials and frustrated magnetic systems. Early applications into materials for sensors and data storage are included in this research area. Strong links to spintronics and condensed matter: electronic structure. Magnetism and Magnetic materials is an area within the EPSRC portfolio that has significant overlap with many other areas including condensed matter: electronic structure, spintronics, functional ceramics and inorganics and superconductivity. EPSRC is currently supporting nine research fellows that conduct research in this area with standard grants funding a wide range of sub-fields including carbon-based magnetism, molecular magnetism, quantum magnetism, frustrated magnetism, magnetic nanoparticles for biomedical applications, thin-film magnetism and nano-magnetism as well as new emergent areas such as Magnetricity. Theory and computational modelling has been strongly supported throughout the portfolio in an attempt to address perceived weaknesses in the links between theory and experiment. Access to facilities at Institut Laue-Langevin (ILL), ISIS, Diamond and the European Synchrotron Radiation Facility (ESRF) have also enhanced progress in the experimental aspects within the portfolio and are perceived as a real strength of the UK research base ( International Review of Materials. Theoretical materials science has been recognised as a UK and European strength (c.f. European Science Foundation (ESF) MatSEEC – Computational Techniques, Methods and Materials Design) and many novel underpinning characterisation techniques for functional and multifunctional magnetic materials are supported in the portfolio. One challenge for the whole magnetism area is to try to develop new materials in order to minimise the dependence of rare-earth elements from China used in current permanent magnets. EPSRC acknowledges the importance of magnetism and magnetic materials in supporting future industrial development with one particular success being magnetic powder processing, where funding has since transferred almost entirely towards industrial sources. Investment in the research area will be maintained relative to other areas in the portfolio through standard research proposals, postdoctoral research fellowships in theoretical physics and early career and advanced career fellowships in the Physical Sciences Grand Challenges. This will be focussed on supporting key emerging areas as well as underpinning techniques with ongoing support to strengthen links between theory and experiment. Alongside the input detailed in the Physical Sciences: Our Approach page, direct communications with individual researchers nominated by the Institute of Physics have provided additional information on this research area.

33 FUNCTIONAL CERAMICS AND INORGANICS Related themes:

Energy, ICT, Physical sciences The synthesis, characterisation and theoretical understanding of functional ceramic and inorganic materials. This area includes electroceramics (including ferroelectric, multiferroic and antiferroelectrics), complex oxides, solid state materials chemistry, inorganic framework and porous materials. This area does not include materials for energy applications, photonic, magnetic, superconducting, polymeric or composite materials or materials processing as these are all covered in related research areas. Functional ceramic and inorganic materials have diverse applications for example in electronics and energy related applications. The quality of research in this area in the UK, particularly with respect to Materials Characterisation, was very highly rated by the 2008 RAE panel. The area is one attracting international attention. In 2011 the ESF MatSEEC (European Science Foundation Materials Science and Engineering Expert Committee) report into ‘Materials for Key Enabling Technologies’, emphasised the importance of maintaining support for continued research into the synthesis and discovery of new materials systems as well as complementing this with work into materials for targeted applications. The US Department of Energy (DoE) has also highlighted the area in publications such as Directing Matter and Energy: Five Challenges for Science and the Imagination. In particular, DoE talks about the “control age” where research is about controlling function through structure and composition - the strategy at the heart of Functional Ceramics and Inorganics. The US has recently (2011) launched the Materials Genome Initiative which aims to speed the process from discovery of new materials through to their application. This will depend on computational techniques an area where the UK leads. European activity in theory and simulation of materials is exceptionally strong and includes activity in a number of UK and European universities. CECAM (Centre Européen de Calcul Atomique et Moléculaire) has played an important role in coordinating some of this activity and both STFC and EPSRC support CECAM. The functional ceramics and inorganics research area has been well funded over the last delivery plan period. Current funding includes four current programme/large grants, around fifteen fellowships and a significant portfolio of standard grants. The materials systems being researched remain important for tackling key technological and societal challenges including addressing problems such as developing high performance lead free alternative electroceramic materials, new and improved multifunctional materials, porous materials for energy storage, and improved materials systems for nanoelectronics. The opportunities for the future are boundless with new research on synthesis of new materials and nanomaterials. The ability to make functional materials by new methods with atomic and molecular control will create new opportunities for speciality manufacturing at all levels. The opportunity and potential impact of materials research could be huge. In the energy area this could include the development of intermediate temperature solid oxide fuel cells, higher capacity lithium batteries. There are also opportunities for improved materials for data storage. Challenges also exist in finding replacements for materials, for example Platinum, that are in short supply. The UK is well placed to take advantage of these opportunities. The UK research community is well connected with key groups worldwide. These links include those facilitated by international collaborative grants funded through the NSF/EPSRC Materials World Network programme and joint calls with the Japan Science and Technology Agency (JST). With a buoyant research community we will maintain EPSRC investment in this area, relative to others in the portfolio, and continue to fund high quality functional ceramics and inorganics proposals, including support for new research leaders. We will create opportunities through the Chemical Sciences and Engineering Grand Challenges (e.g. nanoscale design of functional materials) and Challenge Themes. We will also be discussing ways to encourage better collaboration between those working on new materials and those working on applications, including in industry. Alongside the input detailed in the Physical Sciences: Our Approach page, direct communications with individual researchers have provided additional information on this research area.

Annexe 2: EPSRC physical sciences theme: Materials Science rationales GRAPHENE AND CARBON NANOTECHNOLOGY Related themes:

ICT, Manufacturing the future, Physical sciences The synthesis, characterisation and theoretical understanding of graphene, carbon nanotubes and other carbon based nanomaterials. This area includes understanding the fundamental properties of carbon nanomaterials, development of new growth methods, understanding the influence of defects on properties and exploring possibilities for nanoscale carbon electronics. This area does not include device fabrication, carbon composite materials or materials processing as these are covered in related research areas. The UK is a recognised world leader in graphene culminating in the recent award of a Nobel Prize for Physics in 2010. Over the past decade there has been significant growth in investment from EPSRC in graphene research with two major Science and Innovation awards, a platform grant and a number of smaller grants. Key graphene groups are currently well funded so significant further growth in funding for this area is not planned. However, to maintain the UKâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s leading position in graphene research EPSRC will continue to fund high quality graphene proposals over the delivery plan period. Grant applications for underpinning synthesis, characterisation and theoretical research on carbon nanotubes and other non-graphene carbon nanomaterials are not commonly received as the majority of research on these materials is now more technology focussed (e.g. for electronic devices or engineering technologies). There will continue to be opportunities for high quality research into the fundamental properties of these materials, but projects of this nature should demonstrate clear links to future technologies and/or relevance to EPSRC Challenge themes.

MATERIALS FOR ENERGY APPLICATIONS Related themes:

Energy, Physical sciences The synthesis, characterisation and theoretical understanding of functional materials to be used for energy applications. This includes fundamental studies into potential materials for photovoltaics, fuel cells, batteries and other energy storage materials. Included in this area are studies into polymeric, complex oxide, nanoionic, electrocaloric, magnetocaloric and porous materials for potential future energy applications. The research covered in this area will evolve as new technologies and materials properties emerge. This area only includes research into the materials systems for current and future energy technologies and does not include technology development which is covered in related research areas. Research into the synthesis, characterisation and theoretical understanding of materials for energy applications has been well funded in recent years and is essential to the overall RCUK Energy strategy. The recent RCUK Review of Energy and ESF Materials Science and Engineering Expert Committee report into Materials for Key Enabling Technologies highlight the importance of underpinning materials research in order to progress technologies to address the energy agenda. The UK materials research community in this area is buoyant and new academic staff are being recruited. UK industry is also involved: according to the RCUK Review of Energy the UK is internationally leading in the areas of thirdrd generation photovoltaics, fuel cells, and lithium energy storage, areas which rely on high quality materials research. Companies such as Nexeon, Oxsys, Ceres Power and Rolls Royce all have interests in this area so the academic research base provides a strong foundation for their continued development. There will also be opportunities presented by challenges such as decarbonising the energy grid and improving systems for CO2 capture. Materials research will be key to achieving these goals. The UK already has excellent capacity in this research area, with three programme grants and world leading groups working on research problems in the materials for energy applications area, for example the SUPERGEN Consortia in Energy Storage, Photovoltaic Materials for the 21st Century and Excitonic Solar Cells. There are also nine Centres for Doctoral Training in Energy Related Fields and five Fellowships. Given this healthy capacity we will maintain investment in this area, relative to others in the portfolio, whilst aligning research with the specific RCUK priorities for energy research. These include securing energy supply by funding

35 world-class, speculative research to define future energy supply options, including hydrogen and renewables; Low carbon innovation; and, Reducing energy consumption through technological advances informed by a whole system understanding. These provide many opportunities for materials research and discussions will be taking place over the coming months to identify specific opportunities. We will continue to support high quality research aimed at new disruptive technologies: alignment will ensure added value through meeting the Energy priorities for the future. Alongside the input detailed in the Physical Sciences: Our Approach page, direct communications with individual researchers nominated by the Institute of Physics and Royal Society of Chemistry have provided additional information on this research area.

PHOTONIC MATERIALS AND METAMATERIALS Related themes:

Energy, Engineering, ICT, Physical sciences Research into the synthesis, characterisation and theoretical understanding of photonic materials i.e. materials which can mould the flow of light under certain conditions. This area includes: liquid crystals, photonic crystals, metamaterials, organic and inorganic semiconductors. This area does not include materials for energy applications, electroactive ceramics or polymers or material integration into devices. This research is included in related research areas. This topic which can broadly be described as photonic materials covers the synthesis, characterisation and theory of materials which mould the flow of light and/or emit/transmit light upon electrical stimulus. New advances in the synthesis and characterisation of inorganic and organic semiconductor materials (e.g. OLEDs) are leading to novel applications in electronics (e.g. displays) and solid-state lighting (c.f. European Science Foundation – MatSEEC report – 2011; Materials for Key Enabling Technologies. EMRS, MatSEEC, ESF, June 2011). (Global demand for lighting is expected to be over $110B by 2012 - c.f. BIS Report, ‘Ultra Efficient Lighting in the UK’, 2009.) The UK is internationally leading in the area of organic semiconductors research and also has key clusters of expertise in inorganic semiconductors (c.f. International Review of Chemistry 2009 and International Review of Materials 2008) especially for optical and photovoltaic applications. Organic semiconductors research and associated plastic electronics have potential to making a significant contribution to the Energy theme e.g. light-emitting polymers for displays (OLEDs) and Organic Photovoltaics (covered under ‘Materials for Energy’ research area). Liquid crystals displays of ever increasing performance are ubiquitous whilst phase-change materials such as chalcogenide glasses have the potential to revolutionise data storage and optical communications. The fields of spintronics and molecular electronics are slowly converging to yield a new interdisciplinary area referred to as molecular spintronics, enabled by advances in ultra fast measurement and nanotechnology. There is an opportunity to exploit strengths in the UK organic semiconductor and liquid crystals communities and niches of expertise in spintronics to put the UK on the international map in this area. Liquid Crystals and self-assembly research is directly underpinning the ‘Directed Assembly of Extended Structures’ Grand Challenge. Recent advances in nanofabrication technologies combined to new ideas in transformation optics developed in the UK (Pendry et al.) have led to the design of novel artificial media, called metamaterials, which can control and manipulate light in unexpected ways (e.g. cloaking phenomenon – c.f. Science ‘Insights of the Decade’ Dec 2010 edition). This leads to a range of potential applications including imaging, sensors, circuit processing and nanolithography (c.f. Nanophotonics European Association Foresight Report 2010). The UK is internationally leading in this area growing from a small base to establish key EPSRC-supported centres at Imperial College London, the University of Southampton and the University of St Andrews. By bringing the UK world-leading expertise in graphene and metamaterials together in collaboration, there may be an opportunity to ‘tune’ metamaterials and open-up new applications. Other potentially interesting opportunities include superconducting metamaterials and, in the longer term, quantum metamaterials (c.f. ‘A Roadmap for Metamaterials’, N Zheludev, Optics and Photonics News, March 2011). A number of UK researchers are turning their effort to the field of acoustic metamaterials: an area currently underdeveloped in the UK and which links strongly with the Engineering and ICT themes (acoustics and electromagnetics).

Annexe 2: EPSRC physical sciences theme: Materials Science rationales This topic is also very relevant to the EPSRC physics grand challenge of Nanoscale design of functional materials. It is also relevant to Quantum Physics for New Quantum Technologies. Investment in the Metamaterials area will be grown, relative to other areas of the portfolio, to take full advantage of UKâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s current rapid growth and internationally competitive research standing, with EPSRC exploring possible strategic bids, alongside standard proposals and working with leading researchers to develop ideas and highlight the area to relevant EPSRC industry strategic partners. Organic semiconductor and inorganic semiconductor materials research will be maintained, relative to other areas of the portfolio, through standard routes to enable our large internationally recognised research capacity to continue to excel. New potential opportunities, such as molecular spintronics and acoustic metamaterials, will be explored further in partnership with the research community.

POLYMER MATERIALS Related themes:

Energy, Engineering, Healthcare technologies, Manufacturing the future, Physical sciences Research into the synthesis, characterisation and theoretical understanding of novel polymer materials. This area includes studies into novel polymer synthesis, polymer drug delivery, polymer nanocomposites, responsive polymers, block co-polymers and soft nanotechnology. This area does not include research into polymers for energy applications or photonic polymers, this research is included in related research areas. The research funded within the polymer materials research area is internationally competitive as discussed in the International Review of Chemistry 2009. It contributes to many other research areas within Physical Sciences, Engineering and ICT as well as more broadly into life and medical sciences. Polymer materials research underpins many research areas, providing the basic polymer science that enables organic photovoltaics, photonic and metamaterials, plastic electronics, drug delivery, colloid science, bio-materials and stem cell technology through synthesis and understanding of, among many other things, block co-polymers, self-assembly processes, polymer brushes and polymer nanoparticles. The area has huge cross over with Soft Matter Physics and increasingly Biophysics as well as Materials for Energy Applications and Metamaterials and other Photonic Materials. University researchers in this area work closely with industrial researchers (current project partners include GlaxoSmithKline, AstraZeneca, Biocompatibles, Renishaw) as the need for experimental and theoretical polymer materials research from industry is high. Therefore, polymer materials research is an important capability for the UK to protect and support. EPSRC have funded two programme grants with relevance to this research area and key groups are well supported through standard grants and a variety of other mechanisms, including seven platform grants and ten fellowships. Although there is not a dedicated Centre for Doctoral Training in the polymer materials area there are five centres that contribute to training in this area, two of these have strong industrial support through the Strategic Partnership and Industrial Doctorate Centre mechanisms. Polymer Material researchers have huge potential to drive forward Physical Sciences Grand Challenges particularly in the areas of Directed Assembly of Extended Structures with Targeted Properties, Nanoscale Design of Functional Materials, Utilising CO2 in Synthesis and Transforming the Chemicals Industry and Understanding the Physics of Life. Polymer materials groups received significant funding from the previous delivery planâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Nanotechnology: through Engineering to Application programme (eight of the sixteen Grand Challenge projects funded involved polymer science), researchers should continue to develop proposals that drive nanotechnology through to application. Currently funded polymer materials research contributes significantly to the Healthcare Technologies theme particularly under the Medicines and Regenerative Medicine areas, in targeted drug delivery, biomaterials and stem cell technologies. Healthcare Technologies relevant research is a large part of the current investment in this research area and researchers should continue to take into account the priorities of the Healthcare Technologies theme when applying to EPSRC. Within the Manufacturing the Future theme Frontier Manufacturing is a new opportunity for polymer materials researchers to engage with emerging priorities and highlight physical sciences contribution to the manufacturing

37 agenda, particularly in the areas of sustainability through polymers from renewable feedstock and large scale manufacturing of soft nanotechnology. Investment in the polymer materials research area will be maintained, relative to that in other areas. EPSRC will continue to fund high quality polymer materials proposals through standard routes as well as encouraging researchers to respond to opportunities in the Healthcare Technologies and Manufacturing the Future Themes. Alongside the input detailed in the Physical Sciences: Our Approach page the Medical Engineering Centre for Excellence, Association of the British Pharmaceutical Industry, SoftComp brochure Soft-Matter Research for Society and a number of individuals identified by the Royal Society of Chemistry and the Institute of Physics provided additional information on this research area.

SUPERCONDUCTIVITY Related themes:

Energy, Engineering, Physical sciences Research into the synthesis, characterisation and understanding of the properties of novel superconductor materials and devices. This area includes, for example, research into materials such as Magnesium Diboride (MgB2), Iron-based materials, multi-functional oxides and cuprates. Some of the research into materials with superconducting and/or magnetic properties may be covered under “functional ceramics and inorganics” with some internationally recognised researchers having moved into these areas e.g. functional oxide materials. Superconductivity is a mature area of UK research within the EPSRC portfolio that has decreased in recent years. The area overlaps with condensed matter physics (CMP): electronic structure, CMP: magnetism and magnetic materials and functional ceramics and inorganics with some internationally recognised researchers having moved into these areas e.g. functional oxide materials. Despite fierce international competition, the UK is competitive in new materials systems e.g. the recently identified pnictides and this area of physics remains relatively fast-moving (c.f. US National Academies report “Frontiers in Crystalline Matter: From Discovery to Technology” (2009)). Also, room-temperature superconductivity was considered in the EPSRC grand challenges survey as it was recognised that this could lead to tremendous economic and societal benefits (e.g. energy) (c.f. Outputs of Physics Grand Challenges Community Consultation (2011)). EPSRC recognises superconductivity’s contribution to solving key research challenges in a number of research fields such as high-energy physics (e.g. Large Hadron Collider), ‘dark matter’ and fusion energy. It also underpins a healthy industrial base of medical imaging (currently the main and most profitable application of superconductors) and cryogenics instrumentation in the UK and Europe (c.f. UK Government report on MRI). Investment in this research area will be maintained, relative to others in the portfolio through standard research proposals and postdoctoral research fellowships in theoretical physics. EPSRC will seek to support superconductivity research specifically where the UK is internationally competitive and encourage applications which align the field to societal challenges e.g. Energy and Healthcare Technologies. Alongside the input detailed in the Physical Sciences: Our Approach page, the International Review of Physics 2005 and direct communications with individual researchers nominated by the Institute of Physics have provided additional information on this research area.

Annexe 3: EPSRC research areas with relevance to Materials Science A number of themes support work directly or indirectly related to Materials Science. These are covered by the following Research Areas: Biomaterials and tissue engineering Biophysics and soft matter physics Energy storage Fuel cell technology Hydrogen and alternative energy vectors Manufacturing technologies Materials engineering - ceramics Materials engineering - composites Materials engineering - metals and alloys Microsystems Optical devices and subsystems Resource efficiency Superconductivity Solar technology Full descriptions of these can be found on the EPSRC website: www.epsrc.ac.uk/ourportfolio/researchareas/Pages/default.aspx

Annexe 4: Panel terms of reference and membership TERMS OF REFERENCE

MEMBERSHIP

Within the context of EPSRC’s existing programme structure and policies and against the background of initiatives in other countries (for example, USA, EU, China, Japan) the Panel’s Terms of Reference are to:

Professor Cameron Alexander, School of Pharmacy, University of Nottingham

• produce a roadmap for materials science research in the UK that, in each of the relevant Research Areas identifies:

Professor Neil Alford, Department of Materials, Imperial College Nigel Birch, Senior Portfolio Manager, Physical Sciences, EPSRC

o research opportunities

Professor Claire Carmalt, Department of Chemistry, UCL

o importance to the UK o strengths and weaknesses in the UK

Professor Peter Edwards, Department of Chemistry, University of Oxford

o the need for underpinning techniques (for example modelling)

Professor Saiful Islam, Department of Chemistry, University of Bath

o the links to other Research Areas and EPSRC Challenge Themes

Dr John Morlidge, TSB

o opportunities for international collaboration.

Dr Mike Murray, The Morgan Crucible Company

• suggest research priorities for the UK materials science community.

Professor Michael Preuss, School of Materials, University of Manchester

• oversee a consultation with community on the roadmap and priorities.

Professor Matt Rosseinsky, Department of Chemistry, University of Liverpool

• report to the Physical Sciences Strategic Advisory Team.

Dr Renald Schaub, Department of Chemistry, University of St Andrews

DEFINITION

Professor Henning Sirringhaus, Cavendish Laboratory, University of Cambridge

For the purposes of this review Materials Science is defined as those research areas for which the Physical Sciences Theme as the prime responsibility namely: • Condensed matter: magnetism and magnetic materials • Functional ceramics and inorganics • Graphene and carbon nanotechnology • Materials for Energy Applications • Photonic materials and metamaterials • Polymer materials • Superconductivity

Professor Pamela Thomas, Department of Physics, University of Warwick