Graphene

Graphene is a <a href="/facts/Carbon_allotrope/GSetCyq6">carbon allotrope</a> consisting of a <a href="/facts/Single-layer_materials/YnsFhbWg">single layer</a> of <a href="/facts/Atom/FoQ4kGN5">atoms</a> arranged in a <a href="/facts/Hexagonal_lattice/p6Qtm7FB">honeycomb</a> planar <a href="/facts/Nanostructure/rkeQGqt7">nanostructure</a>. The name "graphene" is derived from "<a href="/facts/Graphite/sSf3KMXr">graphite</a>" and the suffix <a href="/facts/-ene/GF7l4quC">-ene</a>, indicating the presence of double bonds within the carbon structure.
Graphene is known for its exceptionally high <a href="/facts/Ultimate_tensile_strength/Cv2jPplR">tensile strength</a>, <a href="/facts/Electrical_resistivity_and_conductivity/akyCKvMy">electrical conductivity</a>, <a href="/facts/Transparency_and_translucency/PRryNNW6">transparency</a>, and being the thinnest two-dimensional material in the world. Despite the nearly transparent nature of a single graphene sheet, graphite (formed from stacked layers of graphene) appears black because it absorbs all visible light wavelengths. On a microscopic scale, graphene is the strongest material ever measured.

The existence of graphene was first theorized in 1947 by <a href="/facts/P._R._Wallace/klayEApE">Philip R. Wallace</a> during his research on graphite's electronic properties, while the term graphene was first defined by <a href="/facts/Hanns-Peter_Boehm/oUzLDkeQ">Hanns-Peter Boehm</a> in 1987. In 2004, the material was isolated and characterized by <a href="/facts/Andre_Geim/qWjCXzWT">Andre Geim</a> and <a href="/facts/Konstantin_Novoselov/lUm4JtV0">Konstantin Novoselov</a> at the <a href="/facts/University_of_Manchester/PwJzEj8h">University of Manchester</a> using a piece of graphite and <a href="/facts/Pressure-sensitive_tape/Sc7nM8AR">adhesive tape</a>. In 2010, Geim and Novoselov were awarded the <a href="/facts/Nobel_Prize_in_Physics/o6w1nCbr">Nobel Prize in Physics</a> for their "groundbreaking experiments regarding the two-dimensional material graphene". While small amounts of graphene are easy to produce using the method by which it was originally isolated, attempts to scale and automate the manufacturing process for mass production have had limited success due to cost-effectiveness and quality control concerns. The global graphene market was $9 million in 2012, with most of the demand from research and development in <a href="/facts/Semiconductor_device/6W3ryr50">semiconductors</a>, electronics, <a href="/facts/Electric_battery/bqEpm4ue">electric batteries</a>, and <a href="/facts/Composite_material/UBysQldh">composites</a>.
The <a href="/facts/International_Union_of_Pure_and_Applied_Chemistry/2AV6myCK">IUPAC</a> (International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry) advises using the term "graphite" for the three-dimensional material and reserving "graphene" for discussions about the properties or reactions of single-atom layers. A narrower definition, of "isolated or free-standing graphene", requires that the layer be sufficiently isolated from its environment, but would include layers suspended or transferred to <a href="/facts/Silicon_dioxide/A3WILp6J">silicon dioxide</a> or <a href="/facts/Silicon_carbide/kQLVAYbr">silicon carbide</a>.

Graphene open-in-new

Graphene