Graphene; Two-dimensional to the thickness of one atom, A thousand dimensions deep in the ocean

Graphene has emerged as one of the most promising nanomaterials because of its unique combination of exceptional properties: it is not only the thinnest but also one of the strongest materials; it conducts heat better than all other materials; it is an excellent conductor of electricity; it is optically transparent, yet so dense that it is impermeable to gases – not even helium, the smallest gas atom, can pass through it. Graphene is the name for a single layer (monolayer) sheet of carbon atoms that are bonded together in a repeating pattern of hexagons. This sheet is only one atom thick. Monolayers of graphene stacked on top of each other form graphite. Since a typical carbon atom has a diameter of about 0.33 nanometers, there are about 3 million layers of graphene in a 1 mm thick sheet of graphite. In scientific terms: The extraordinary characteristics of graphene originate from the 2p orbitals, which form the π state bands that delocalize over the sheet of carbons that constitute graphene. Harder than diamond yet more elastic than rubber; tougher than steel yet lighter than aluminum. graphene is the strongest known material. To put this in perspective: if a sheet of cling film (like kitchen wrap film) had the same strength as a pristine single layer of graphene, it would require the force exerted by a mass of 2,000 kg, or a large car, to puncture it with a pencil. Thanks to the unique structure of graphene, it possesses other amazing characteristics: Its high electron mobility is 100x faster than silicon; it conducts heat 2x better than diamond; its electrical conductivity is 13x better than copper; it absorbs only 2.3% of reflecting light; it is impervious so that even the smallest atom (helium) can't pass through a defect-free monolayer graphene sheet; and its high surface area of 2,630 square meters per gram means that with less than 3 grams you could cover an entire soccer field (well, practically speaking you would need 6 grams, since 2,630 m2/g is the surface area for both sides of a graphene sheet). Graphene represents a conceptually new class of materials that are only one atom thick, so-called two-dimensional (2D) materials (they are called 2D because they extend in only two dimensions: length and width; as the material is only one atom thick, the third dimension, height, is considered to be zero). And it is only at this single- or few-layer state that graphene’s amazing properties appear. Graphene has a vast number of potential applications, but research and commercial applications are undermined by the poor or unknown quality of much of the available material (read more in our article "Beware the fake graphene"). The quality of graphene plays a crucial role as the presence of defects, impurities, and grain boundaries, multiple domains, structural disorders, wrinkles in the graphene sheet can have an adverse effect on its electronic and optical properties.

In electronic applications, the major bottleneck is the requirement of large size samples, which is possible only in the case of CVD process, but it is difficult to produce high quality and single crystalline graphene thin films possessing very high electrical and thermal conductivities along with excellent optical transparency.

Another issue of concern in the synthesis of graphene by conventional methods involves the use of toxic chemicals and these methods usually result in the generation hazardous waste and poisonous gases. Therefore, there is a need to develop green methods to produce graphene by following environmentally friendly approaches. The preparation methods for graphene should also allow for in situ fabrication and integration of graphene-based devices with complex architecture that would enable eliminating the multi-step and laborious fabrication methods at a lower production cost (read more: "Mass production of high quality graphene: An analysis of worldwide patents").

Whether we like it or not

We are living in the age of nanotechnology!

So, Say Hello to Nanotechnology Era!