Graphene: The Future of Technology

CNN Tech sat down with Tomas Palacios, head of MIT’s graphene research department to discuss the exciting and confounding properties of graphene. Graphene was discovered in 2004 by physicists Andre Geim and Konstantin Novoselov. Since its discovery, graphene has been touted as a revolutionary material that can change the the current technological landscape.

CNN asked Mr. Palacios what he believes the challenges remaining for graphene researchers are:

Graphene was isolated for the first time using the Scotch Tape technique (where ever thinner strips are peeled off a block of graphite using sticky tape) and the quantities we can make in large areas still lag behind this method.

There has been a lot of work to try and enhance the manufacturability of graphene and there are a few techniques that look very promising but they are not completely mature yet.

The second challenge is that graphene is a material that is only one atom thick. Anything that you do to it is going to impact its properties.

We still need to understand better how to fabricate graphene devices and how to be gentle enough not to (break) the formula.

Click here to read the full interview on CNN Tech.