Intercalation compounds are inorganic materials in which atomic or molecular species are inserted in an orderly fashion in a rigid lattice. The resulting intercalation compound has properties that significantly differ from those of the two constituents. The intercalation of graphite, for example, can change its colour to yellow, increase its electrical conductivity beyond copper, and induce superconductivity. The advent of new nanomaterials opens the fascinating prospect of producing a new generation of intercalation compounds with crystal structure, chemical composition and bulk optoelectronic properties beyond graphite intercalation compounds (GICs). 

This project proposes to synthesise bundled intercalation compounds with unexplored chemical compositions to produce new macroscopic fibre metamaterials. The aim is to realise new uniaxial intercalation compounds with the controlled local electronic structure of the host and the guest, akin to super-lattice topological materials, and study their optoelectronic properties.