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The rise of graphene

Nature Materials volume 6, pages 183–191 (2007)Cite this article

Abstract

Graphene is a rapidly rising star on the horizon of materials science and condensed-matter physics. This strictly two-dimensional material exhibits exceptionally high crystal and electronic quality, and, despite its short history, has already revealed a cornucopia of new physics and potential applications, which are briefly discussed here. Whereas one can be certain of the realness of applications only when commercial products appear, graphene no longer requires any further proof of its importance in terms of fundamental physics. Owing to its unusual electronic spectrum, graphene has led to the emergence of a new paradigm of 'relativistic' condensed-matter physics, where quantum relativistic phenomena, some of which are unobservable in high-energy physics, can now be mimicked and tested in table-top experiments. More generally, graphene represents a conceptually new class of materials that are only one atom thick, and, on this basis, offers new inroads into low-dimensional physics that has never ceased to surprise and continues to provide a fertile ground for applications.

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Figure 1: Mother of all graphitic forms.
Figure 2: One-atom-thick single crystals: the thinnest material you will ever see.
Figure 3: Ambipolar electric field effect in single-layer graphene.
Figure 4: Chiral quantum Hall effects.
Figure 5: Minimum conductivity of graphene.
Figure 6: Towards graphene-based electronics.

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Acknowledgements

We are most grateful to Irina Grigorieva, Alberto Morpurgo, Uli Zeitler, Antonio Castro Neto and Allan MacDonald for many useful comments that helped to improve this review. The image of crumpled graphene on the cover of this issue was kindly provided by Jannik Meyer. The work was supported by EPSRC (UK), the Royal Society and the Leverhulme trust.

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  1. Manchester Centre for Mesoscience and Nanotechnology, University of Manchester, Oxford Road, Manchester, M13 9PL, UK

    A. K. Geim & K. S. Novoselov

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Geim, A., Novoselov, K. The rise of graphene. Nature Mater 6, 183–191 (2007). https://doi.org/10.1038/nmat1849

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