The University of Manchester scientists who created graphene in 2004 have reported in detail about the electronic properties of the material in the Nature Physics journal.
The creators along with scientists at the universities of Moscow and Madrid have investigated the results of electron interactions on graphene’s electronic properties using superior quality graphene instruments that are fabricated by suspending graphene sheets in a vacuum. This method could eliminate the majority of unnecessary scattering processes for electrons in graphene, which in turn would allow the researchers to clearly observe the effect of electron-on-electron interaction in the material.
Since the electrons in graphene are unique when compared to other materials, graphene demonstrates novel electronic properties, which replicate those of zero-mass, relativistic particles like photons. With these properties, graphene is at times termed as 'CERN on a desk', which refers to the Large Hadron Collider located in Switzerland.
The research work will pave the way to numerous electronic prospects as research universities and institutes throughout the globe are already in the process of developing devices, including photodetectors, ultrafast transistors and touch screens.
A unique two-dimensional material, graphene demonstrates very high mechanical strength as well as thermal and electron conductivities ascribed to excellent quality of the crystals and extreme velocities of electrons. Novoselov, one of the discoverers, stated that the results of this specific experiment would be applied immediately in practical electronic instruments. The extended study about the electronic properties of graphene would realize the development of graphene electronics, he added.
Source: http://www.manchester.ac.uk