Graphene won the 2010 Nobel Prize in Physics after Andre Geim and Konstantin Novoselov isolated and studied it. The Nobel committee recognized their groundbreaking experiments on the two-dimensional material.
Graphene consists of a single layer of carbon atoms arranged in a hexagonal lattice. Although only one atom thick, it is exceptionally strong, conducts electricity and heat efficiently, and has unusual electronic properties. Its structure can be viewed as a one-atom-thick layer separated from graphite.
Geim and Novoselov isolated graphene at the University of Manchester using a remarkably simple mechanical method involving ordinary adhesive tape. Their experiments demonstrated that the material could exist as a stable, freestanding sheet and could be investigated in the laboratory.
Graphene is not the same as fullerene, another carbon form made of closed molecular cages, or silicon, a different chemical element widely used in electronics. Its discovery renewed interest in two-dimensional materials and their possible technological applications.