Definition
Plain language
A one-atom-thick sheet of carbon, the most famous 2D material.
As stated in the literature
A monolayer of sp2-bonded carbon atoms arranged in a hexagonal lattice; foundational 2D material whose isolation won the 2010 Nobel Prize in Physics.
Why it matters: It opened the field of 2D materials and remains the prototype for understanding how matter behaves when confined to a single atomic plane.
For example, you can make graphene at home by pressing scotch tape onto pencil graphite and peeling off thinner and thinner flakes until one is a single atom thick.
Heard on the show
“For twenty years, every graphene flake in every lab on Earth has been made that way, by a human, by hand, under a microscope.”Episode 072 — A Robot Made Graphene Without Help, And Caught Itself Hallucinating