Nanogrowth is an international project, funded by the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council EPSRC, to investigate crystal growth mechanisms in nanoporous materials, such as zeolites. The project started in October 2006 and runs for three years. The project team consists of members from universities in the United Kingdom, Sweden and France together with our industrial sponsor in the USA.

Future applications of nanoporous materials will be in opto-electronic devices, magnetic and chemical sensors, shape-selective and bio-catalysis, structural materials and nuclear waste management. Crucially, in all such applications, an understanding of crystal growth to the same depth as has been achieved in semiconductor technology is needed. Therefore, defects, intergrowths, dopants and isomorphous substitution must be controlled, and crystal habit and size (e.g. single crystal films) must be fabricated with precision. These goals elude the community because of lack of understanding of crystal growth processes. We have assembled an international, world-class team of academics and industrialists and the right techniques and technology to tackle these major and far-reaching problems.