Get all your news in one place.
100's of premium titles.
One app.
Start reading
The Conversation
The Conversation
Science
Kevin Wyss, PhD Student in Chemistry, Rice University

Graphene is a proven supermaterial, but manufacturing the versatile form of carbon at usable scales remains a challenge

Graphene has many incredible physical properties that arise from its one-atom-thick carbon structure. AlexanderAlUS/Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA

“Future chips may be 10 times faster, all thanks to graphene”; “Graphene may be used in COVID-19 detection”; and “Graphene allows batteries to charge 5x faster” – those are just a handful of recent dramatic headlines lauding the possibilities of graphene. Graphene is an incredibly light, strong and durable material made of a single layer of carbon atoms. With these properties, it is no wonder researchers have been studying ways that graphene could advance material science and technology for decades.

I never know what to expect when I tell people I study graphene – some have never heard of it, while others have seen some version of these headlines and inevitably ask, “So what’s the holdup?”

Sign up to read this article
Read news from 100's of titles, curated specifically for you.
Already a member? Sign in here
Related Stories
Top stories on inkl right now
One subscription that gives you access to news from hundreds of sites
Already a member? Sign in here
Our Picks
Fourteen days free
Download the app
One app. One membership.
100+ trusted global sources.