Introduction

Graphene is a one-atom-thick sheet of carbon atoms in a honeycomb crystal lattice (hexagons). Graphene is the building-block of Graphite (used in pencil tips). Graphene is a 'wondermaterial' - strong, thin (actually 2D) and with a lot of interesting properties. It has a lot of possible applications:

  • Sensors, for single molecules detection, and other bio-devices
  • Transistors
  • Integrated circuits, or conducting electrodes. In fact a graphene electrode will be transparent, with high electrical conductivity. Graphene might be used for touchscreens, especially suited for OLED displays.
  • Ultracapacitors
  • Spintronics-related products
Hexagonal arrangement of carbon atoms in an ideal graphene sheet

Graphene is pretty exciting and is getting a lot of hype lately - especially since the 2010 Nobel prize in physics went to Andre Geim and Konstantin Novoselov, who discovered Graphene. Graphene is not easy to produce, but a lot of companies are producing Graphene today and are also developing new ways to make it on the cheap.



Here's a great video by Dr. Jonathan Hare (who runs the creative science center in Sussex, UK) introducing Graphene:
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