Properties of Graphene
These are some prominent features which make it a hi-tech material:
Excellent Electronic Conductor
The chief electronic property makes it an efficient Zero-Overlap Semimetal and gives it sufficient electrical conductivity. Carbon atoms possess typically 2 electrons in the inner shell, and 4 electrons in the outer orbit, total 6 electrons.
Although conventionally, the outer 4 electrons in carbon can connect with another atom, each, the atoms can form a 2-dimensional bond with three atoms per single atom. This leaves an electron available for electronic conduction. Such electrons are known as ‘Pi’ electrons and found above and below in sheet.
Ultimate Tensile Strength
The mechanical strength is another prominent property of the material. It considered as being the foremost most robust material ever discovered, owing to the 0.142 Nm-long carbon bonds.
It also possesses ultimate tensile strength, measuring 130 Gigapascals (or 130,000,000,000 Pascals). Compared to the tensile strength of industrial grade (A36) steel, which is around 400,000,000 Pascals or so, it has awe-inspiring strength. Even Kevlar (Aramid), which has a tensile strength measuring around 375,700,000 Pascals, falls short in matching up to concerning tensile strength.
Extremely Lightweight
As compared to any other modern material, its exceptionally lightweight. A square-meter of sheet weighs around 0.77 mg, which is about 1,000 times lighter than a sheet of paper of the same size. To give a more precise perspective, a single-atom-thick sheet broad enough to cover a football field would still weigh less than 1 gram.
Optimum Optical Properties
It has the unique ability to absorb around 2.3% of white light. What makes this optical property so impressive is that it is able to do so despite being only an atom-thick. Its excellent electronic properties make it an efficient optical material too. This sheet has dual electrons that act as highly mobile, mass-less carriers of electric charge and enables increased absorption of white light.
