The Unique Properties of Graphene

Since the isolation of graphene and the reporting of its exceptional electronic properties in 2005 there has been a gold-rush in terms of exploring the full range of properties it has to offer. Table 1.3 summarises some of the reported astonishing 

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Recently, the unique properties of graphene and its derivatives have been exploited for efficient energy conversion (e.g., solar cell and fuel cell) and their storage (e.g., rechargeable battery and supercapacitor) in pursuance of its widespread application [218]. 

The perfect graphene sheet extends indefinitely, representing an ideal 2D polymer [103-105]. Most examples shown so far described the synthesis of distinct molecular PAHs. In order to harvest the unique properties of graphene, the small PAH fragments have to be further extended [106]. In principle most strategies explained above have the potential to achieve this goal. A small number of selected examples are illustrated below, demonstrating the basic concepts. 

The zero dimensional C60 buckyball was discovered in spectroscopy data in 1985 [68], followed by one dimensional nanotube in 1991 [69]. These newly-found carbon stmctures couple quantum effects, lower dimensionality and the unique properties of graphene [70-71] all together, and they have generated intense research in many disciplines because they bridge between physics, chemistry, material seience and more. 

Graphene is also among one of the important carbon materials used for the electrochemical studies of redox proteins. The unique properties of graphene (fast electron transportation, high thermal conductivity, excellent mechanical flexibility and good biocompatibility) provide it with potential applicability in electrochemical biosensors as summarised by Kuila et al. [73] in one of their recent reports. 

Carbon nanotube research was greatly stimulated by the initial report of observation of carbon tubules of nanometer dimensions[l] and the subsequent report on the observation of conditions for the synthesis of large quantities of nanotubes[2,3]. Since these early reports, much work has been done, and the results show basically that carbon nanotubes behave like rolled-up cylinders of graphene sheets of bonded carbon atoms, except that the tubule diameters in some cases are small enough to exhibit the effects of one-dimensional (ID) periodicity. In this article, we review simple aspects of the symmetry of carbon nanotubules (both monolayer and multilayer) and comment on the significance of symmetry for the unique properties predicted for carbon nanotubes because of their ID periodicity. 

The unique properties predicted for graphene comprise a number of very peculiar electronic properties—from an anomalous quantum Hall effect to the absence of localization. As new procedures for the large-scale production of graphene are expected to be developed in the near future, most of such properties—and those still unknown—will be soon experimentally demonstrated, thus permitting the development of the many important technological applications foreseen for this material. 

Be femUiar with the structures and unique properties of fullerenes, carbon nanotubes, and graphene. [Section 12.9]... 

The applications of graphene/conjugated polymer nanocomposites have been extensively explored due to their unique properties and the synergistic effect of graphene-based fillers and conjugated polymer nanocomposites. The graphene/conjugated polymer nanocomposites are expected to find applications in many fields, such as DSSC, transparent electrodes, pharmaceutical, biomedical, environmental field and touch screen [168-192]. 

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