Graphene: 2D carbon

Graphene is the 2D hexagonal allotrope of carbon. Since its isolation in 2004, this seemingly simple material has revealed a number of intriguing physical properties. Immediately, this series of discoveries ignited an ever-growing interest among researchers coming from various disciplines. Nowadays, condensed matter physics theorist and experimentalist, join their interest toward the properties and possible applications of this material, with particle physicists, chemists, engineers, and biologists.

Carbon offers the extraordinary opportunity to investigate a material in all possible dimensionalities. Indeed it can form 0D structures like fullerenes, 1D carbon nanotubes and carbynes, 2D graphene sheets and finally 3D graphite and diamond.

All these materials share the same chemical formula: C, since they are made only of carbon atoms. The large differences in their chemistry and physical properties resides in the different ways carbon atoms bond together in these solids.

Videos:

1. Kostya Novoselov's lecture at Manchester University

Prof. Kostya Novoselov's Lecture at Manchester University, Graphene: Materials in the Flatland [Streaming]

2. COST Videos on Graphene