Each atom in a graphene sheet is connected to its three nearest neighbors by a
σ-bond, and contributes one
electron to a
conduction band that extends over the whole sheet. This is the same type of bonding seen in
carbon nanotubes and
polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, and (partially) in
fullerenes and
glassy carbon.
[5][6] These conduction bands make graphene a
semimetal with unusual
electronic properties that are best described by theories for massless relativistic particles.
[2] Charge carriers in graphene show linear, rather than quadratic, dependence of energy on momentum, and field-effect transistors with graphene can be made that show bipolar conduction. Charge transport is
ballistic over long distances; the material exhibits large
quantum oscillations and large and nonlinear
diamagnetism.
[7] Graphene conducts heat and electricity very efficiently along its plane. The material strongly absorbs light of all visible wavelengths,
[8][9] which accounts for the black color of graphite; yet a single graphene sheet is nearly transparent because of its extreme thinness. The material is also about 100 times stronger than would be the strongest steel of the same thickness.
[10][11]
Photograph of a suspended graphene membrane in transmitted light. This one-atom-thick material can be seen with the naked eye because it absorbs approximately 2.3% of light.
[9][8]
Scientists theorized the potential existence and production of graphene for decades. It has likely been unknowingly produced in small quantities for centuries, through the use of pencils and other similar applications of graphite. It was originally observed in
electron microscopes in 1962, but studied only while supported on metal surfaces.
[12]
In 2004, the material was rediscovered, isolated and investigated at the
University of Manchester,
[13][14] by
Andre Geim and
Konstantin Novoselov. In 2010, Geim and Novoselov were awarded the
Nobel Prize in Physics for their "groundbreaking experiments regarding the two-dimensional material graphene".
[15] High-quality graphene proved to be surprisingly easy to isolate.
Graphene has become a valuable and useful
nanomaterial due to its exceptionally high tensile strength, electrical conductivity, transparency, and being the thinnest two-dimensional material in the world.
[4] The global market for graphene was $9 million in 2012,
[16] with most of the demand from research and development in semiconductor, electronics,
electric batteries,
[17] and
composites.
The
IUPAC (International Union for Pure and Applied Chemistry) recommends use of the name "graphite" for the three-dimensional material, and "graphene" only when the reactions, structural relations or other properties of individual layers are discussed.
[18] A narrower definition, of "isolated or free-standing graphene" requires that the layer be sufficiently isolated from its environment,
[19] but would include layers suspended or transferred to
silicon dioxide or
silicon carbide.
[20]
