Graphene: Status and Prospects
A. K. Geim
Graphene is a wonder material with many superlatives to its
name. It is the thinnest known material in the universe and
the strongest ever measured. Its charge carriers exhibit giant
intrinsic mobility, have zero effective mass, and can travel
for micrometers without scattering at room temperature. Graphene
can sustain current densities six orders of magnitude higher
than that of copper, shows record thermal conductivity and stiffness,
is impermeable to gases, and reconciles such conflicting qualities
as brittleness and ductility. Electron transport in graphene
is described by a Dirac-like equation, which allows the investigation
of relativistic quantum phenomena in a benchtop experiment.
This review analyzes recent trends in graphene research and
applications, and attempts to identify future directions in
which the field is likely to develop.
