Graphene and 2D materials
The isolation of graphene at The University of Manchester led to the discovery of a whole family of 2D materials, including hexagonal boron nitride and molybdenum disulphide.
These can be combined with graphene to create new 'designer materials' to produce applications originally limited to science fiction.
It is probably fair to say that research on 'simple graphene' has already passed its zenith.
— Professor Sir Andre Geim, Nature 2013
Designer materials
Combinations of these 2D materials are called heterostructures - tiny towers with different layers of different materials. Any combination is possible, which means new materials can be built from the ground up on an atomic level to create materials tailored to exact functions.