News and Views: Perspectives on Graphene and Other 2D Materials Research and Technology Investments

Abstract

With the actual experimental realization of graphene samples, it became possible not only to exploit the special physical properties of graphene but also to exploit its technological applications. As the field developed, the discovery of other 2D materials occurred and this opened up access to a plethora of combinations of a large variety of electrical, optical, mechanical, and chemical properties. Now there are large investments being made around the world to develop the graphene research area and to boost graphene use in technology. Here, we discuss current research and some future prospects for this area of layered nanomaterials. [2]. The transition metal dichalcogenides, for example, form a set of more than 30 layered solids with large varieties of optical, thermal, mechanical, and electronic properties, offering even more possibilities for technological applications. KeywordsFrom a scientific standpoint, the reduction of the sample size in terms of one or a few 2D layers in graphite, reaching graphene in the monolayer limit, opened the possibility to explore many new physical phenomena, such as the study of Dirac-like particles in condensed matter systems [3] and the quantum Hall effect which is observed when electrons (here behaving like Dirac fermions) are under the influence of a magnetic field [4,5]. This two-dimensional form of organization of carbon atoms with sp 2 hybrid bonds has been studied theoretically since 1947, when Wallace proposed the linear dispersion relation (E(k)) for monolayer graphene [6]. Nevertheless, evolution of the synthesis and characterization of carbon materials (on both microscopic and nanoscopic length scales) went through several stages, during the last Braz J Phys (2014) 44:278-282

Theoretical Chemistry of α-Graphyne: Functionalization, Symmetry Breaking, and Generation of Dirac-Fermion Mass

“…Monolayer and few-layer graphene have been under intensive scientific scrutiny since their isolation and identification on a variety of substrates. − This research effort has also generated an increasing interest in the identification of other two-dimensional (2D) materials that could possibly share the linear dispersion and chiral nature of the electronic carriers in graphene, along with the ensuing exceptional electronic properties. − Topological insulators, silicene, monolayer boron-nitride, and monolayers of inorganic layered materials such as molybdenum sulfide have since come into the fold.…”

Graphene/Metal Oxide Nanocomposite Usage as Photoanode in Dye-Sensitized and Perovskite Solar Cells

“…Graphene, first discovered in 2004, has appeared as a rising star in material engineering. Geim and Novoselov winner of Nobel Prize in 2010 opened infinite new possibilities for graphene, and recently, around the world many efforts have been made to present graphene-related materials to many industries [14]. Graphene has extraordinary properties such as high electrical conductivity (108 S/m), good thermal conductivity (5000 W/mK), high surface area (2630 m 2 g −1 ) and electron mobility (250,000 cm 2 /VS), excellent mechanical strength, room temperature quantum hall effect, tunable band gap and good biocompatibility [15,16].…”

Synthesis and applications of large-area single-layer graphene

“…15) and have upgraded graphene research to strategic height. 211 European Commission ranked graphene as one of the "Future and Emerging Technologies Flagship Projects" in January 2013 and will provide V1 billion in funding in the next 10 years. 212,213 More than 140 institutions from 23 countries had participated in the Graphene Flagship program at 2014.…”