Graphene is an allotrope of carbon in the form of a flat, atomic-scale, hexagonal lattice in which one atom forms each vertex. It can also be considered as an indefinitely
large aromatic molecule.
Graphene has many interesting properties. It is about 200 times stronger than steel by weight, conducts heat and electricity with great efficiency and is nearly transparent.
Scientists have theorized about graphene for decades. It is quite likely that graphene was unwittingly produced in
small quantities for centuries through the use of pencils and other similar applications of graphite, but it was first measurably produced and isolated in the
lab in 2003.
Research was informed by existing theoretical descriptions of its composition, structure and properties. High-quality graphene proved to be surprisingly easy to isolate, making more research possible.
Andre Geim and
Konstantin Novoselov at the University of Manchester won the Nobel Prize in Physics in
2010 "for groundbreaking experiments regarding the
two-dimensional material graphene."
The global market for graphene is reported to have reached $9 million by 2014 with most sales in the semiconductor, electronics, battery energy and composites industries.
Potential graphene applications include
lightweight, thin, flexible, yet durable display screens, electric circuits and
solar cells, as well as various medical, chemical and
industrial processes enhanced or enabled by the use of new graphene materials.
