It is well known that the potential of this material for a vast range of commercial and industrial applications across a plethora of industries is staggering. Experimental characterisation has revealed that graphene is mechanically 200 times stronger than steel, has in-plane electrical and thermal conductivity higher than copper (3000–5000 Wm–1K–1) and has an incredible surface area of over 2500 m2 per gram. Together with this, graphene is inherently flexible and will retain its unique electrical, thermal and physical properties even when it is contorted or put under considerable physical duress.
These extraordinary properties have stimulated an enormous, global interest in graphene, exciting not only the academic world, but both the investor community and industry who are keen to see how commercial benefits can be translated from the laboratory into commercial applications. Graphene’s properties appear to have almost limitless application potential, ranging from composite materials for the aerospace industry, energy harvesting and energy storage in the form of next-generation batteries and supercapacitors, flexible displays and optical electronics and biosensors for applications in healthcare and medical devices. So why hasn’t graphene, with the potential to vastly outperform the majority of currently available materials, been integrated into everything from wristwatches to ocean liners?