Graphene is featured as the strongest material known to exist, more than around three hundred times stronger than A36 structural steel and forty times stronger than diamond. It is a one-atom-thick form of carbon that was first isolated by the Nobel prize achievers Andre Geim and Kostya Novoselov in 2004. Consisting of some extraordinary properties, graphene earned the title “wonder material”, especially for nanotechnology applications. Graphene is also the thinnest material known to mankind so far that is flexible and transparent, even lighter than paper. A study by engineering researchers at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute observed that graphene is not only transparent to the eye but also water. In addition, the properties like sp2 hybridization and atomic thickness (0.345 nm) of graphene set its records in terms of strength, electricity, and heat conduction. It is technically a non-metal but is often called a quasi-metal due to its extraordinary electrical and mechanical properties. Some companies, such as Tata Steel, Graphenea, CUMI Grafino, etc., are focusing on the production of high-quality industrial graphene and graphene-reinforced materials. Also, the sports market is an early adopter of graphene as HEAD started shipping graphene-based tennis rackets in 2013. Other industries, like electronics, automotive, etc., have also adopted graphene as leading material. For example- Huawei's smartphones have started using graphene thermal films for heat management. Indeed, the properties of graphene are impressive, but high-quality mass production is still a challenge.
No other material possesses as many superlatives as graphene, making it perfect for a wide range of applications like anti-corrosion coatings and paints, faster and efficient electronics, flexible displays, & sensors. Transportation, medical, electronics, energy, military, and desalination are just a few of the fields where graphene research is having an influence. According to British physicist Andre Geim "What is important about graphene is the new physics it has delivered." Besides being strong and light, graphene is also the most heat-conductive material. It is a great material for making heat spreading solutions, heat dissipation films, or heat sinks. This could be useful for making LED lighting more efficient and also for larger applications like thermal foils for mobile devices. Since graphene is the world's thinnest material, it also has a large surface area making it a valuable material for batteries and supercapacitors to store more energy and charge them faster. Graphene has the potential to change other sectors of technology that are obstructed by traditional materials. The prospect of developing a slew of brand-new, previously inconceivable technologies that take advantage of graphene's incredible qualities is perhaps the most intriguing of all. Graphene has the potential to create ultra-light, ultra-thin, powerful, transparent, optically, and electrically conductive substances, making it a fascinating alternative to conventional materials that have reached their physical limits. As we know, transistors are made of silicon. However, we can use graphene to create ballistic transistors to store information at super-fast rates.
Silicon turned out to be the primary semiconductor that revolutionized technology though speculations are questioning its potential in driving innovation forward. Therefore, corporate leaders are gauging other materials to increase productivity and ease the rising costs of silicon. According to a 2021 McKinsey report, silicon displayed continuous improvements in capacity and performance during the 1970s, and regular innovation from this semiconductor produced consistent profits over the decades. But in recent years, its pace of performance has slowed down. The processing power in PCs and smartphones has receded, silicon is thus becoming fatal with time. Electronic devices rely heavily on silicon as a primary component, but the continued innovation has led to innovators suffering physical limitations of the material. Some limitations in fabricating nanosized structures, instrumentation, and lithography will also obstruct progress. In addition, companies have to face commercial challenges as they have to increase their capital spending by a considerable amount to achieve their performance improvements. The companies that worked consistently on innovation have gained a competitive advantage over others. Therefore, trendsetters are struggling to expand their lead in performance to get premium prices before other markets can catch up. Reportedly, prices fall by 10-15% when multiple competitors enter the market. The cost for semiconductor companies rises as they continue to innovate to next-level fabs. As a result, companies are researching new materials that are most likely to advance next-generation technologies that will help them in furthering innovation.
Graphene has many properties that make it superior, enabling it to break many boundaries in terms of strength, electricity, etc. It is also used in a variety of household products, such as LED light bulbs of graphene-coated filaments. After the discovery of graphene, "it was as if science fiction had become a reality," says Samsung executive vice president. Among all industries, the construction industry can benefit the most from graphene. Generally, concrete contributes approx 8% towards carbon dioxide emissions, but if graphene is added to the cement, it will help reduce the carbon emissions by 2%. These estimates prove that graphene can be incorporated into many applications. The mobility of graphene is about 250 times greater than that of silicon. In the near term, graphene is expected to be used as an enhancer, which will increase the use of silicon. The protective layers of graphene improve the performance of interconnects. Currently, fourteen-nanometer tantalum nitride metal barriers are often used on interconnects to refuse diffusion into silicon. At gaps of less than ten nanometers, diffusion becomes a major cause of the device's failure. Graphene barriers have many advantages over any other available alternatives. The benefits include better protection in just one-eighths size and at a rate of about 30% faster compared to the alternatives. One of the most interesting features of graphene is its molecular arrangement. Repeated sp2 hybridization, the backbone of graphene molecules- enables a flexible margin without affecting stability, giving it an edge over other wonder materials like carbon nanotubes in transferring strength and mechanical properties to any other host materials. Graphene holds a 74% market share in the data processing sector, about 63% in the wireless communication sector, and about 5% in the consumer electronics sector. According to experts, the total available market for graphene is 190 billion dollars in computing, wireless communications, and consumer electronics. Thus, graphene has the potential to bring a huge influx of money into the electronics market. Scientists believe that a wide range of applications of graphene can eventually replace silicon as the primary material for semiconductors within ten to twenty-five years. Graphene offers higher electrical conductivity than lithium-ion batteries as it can charge the cells at a much faster rate. It also shows promise in anti-corrosion coatings, drug delivery, and faster DNA sequencing. During the pandemic, as the world battled COVID-19, graphene masks have proved superiority in filtration levels owing to graphene's natural bacteriostatic quality. In addition, the mask is much more reusable and environmentally friendly than disposable masks. However, there are a few obstacles before graphene and that is mainly its cost, which is about 40% higher than other “wonder materials”. However, scientists say that the wider use of graphene will significantly reduce its costs. Graphene expects to follow a similar S-curve trend as other technologies, with a lead time that resembles wafer adoption.