Graphene, beyond lab benches

Twenty years since its discovery, the journey to reach graphene’s true potential is still underway Twenty years after the discovery of graphene—a one-atom-thick layer of carbon atoms in a honeycomb structure (1)—research on this remarkable material has evolved from benchtops to large-scale productions and commercial applications. Graphene is known for its breadth of exotic properties, including electrical conductivity up to 70% higher than that of copper, thermal conductivity at room temperature that is more than twice that of pyrolytic graphite, and strength that is 200 times as great as that of steel (at one-sixth the weight). These attributes make graphene and its derivatives ideal for a myriad of uses, including electronic, structural, and biomedical uses. However, even broader industrial applications of graphene are yet to be realized.