Graphene is a form of carbon that has received a lot of attention recently. Some call it “the wonder material” for its many extraordinary properties. Although isolated in 2004, graphene's properties had been calculated decades earlier. It consists of a single layer of carbon atoms arranged in a hexagonal lattice. A single sheet of graphene is stronger than steel and yet remains very flexible, retaining all of its properties despite being folded and unfolded multiple times. It can sustain extremely high electrical current densities, is impervious to all gases, has a thermal conductivity double that of diamond, and very high electron mobility at room temperature. Furthermore, it is easily chemically functionalised, allowing its properties to be increased or modified depending on the method with which it is made or whether it contains metal ions within it. Thanks to these numerous properties, the potential of graphene is almost limitless. Its high electrical properties and gas imperviousness make it excellent for use in ultracapacitors and fuel cells. Because it is carbon-based, it is able to work well with biological systems, making it ideal for bioapplications. Its thin sheets can be rolled into tubes for nanoelectronics. Its high optical absorption gives it phototonic potential and it can be chemically modified to make it more suitable for each application. What is graphene? There is often a lot of confusion about what graphene actually is. Graphene is defined as a single layer of carbon atoms arranged in a hexagonal lattice. However, there are a number of materials often described as graphene, despite not fitting this description. This is often called “pristine graphene”. The only few ways to achieve this...... middle of paper ......5 (2012). Accessed 26 November 2013, doi: 10.1126/science.121674410. Stoller, Maryl D., et al., “Graphene-Based Ultracapacitors,” Nano Letters 8 (2008). Accessed November 26, doi: 10.1021/nl802558y11. Mohanty, Nihar, and Vikas Berry, “Graphene-based single-bacterium resolution biodevice and DNA transistors: Interfacing graphene derivatives with nanoscale and microscale biocomponents,” Nano Letters 8 (2008): Accessed on 26 November 2013 doi: 10.1021/nl802412n12. “Dream Screens from Graphene,” Rice University News and Media, last modified August 2, 2011, http://news.rice.edu/2011/08/02/dream-screens-from-graphene-2/13. “Graphene Fuel Cell Catalyst Claimed to Outperform Platinum Equivalent,” Fuel Cell Today, last modified June 6, 2013, http://www.fuelcelltoday.com/news-events/news-archive/2013 /june/graphene-fuel-cell - catalyst said to outperform platinum equivalent