This issue of the journal «Fizika Nizkikh Temperatur»

is dedicated to the discovery of graphene — a monolayer

graphite — in 2004

Krive, I.V.

Loktev, V.M.

Shekhter, R.I.

Наукова електронна бібліотека періодичних видань НАН України (Vernadsky National Library of Ukraine)

Graphene and graphene-based nanostructures(Preface)This issue of the journal «Fizika Nizkikh Temperatur»is dedicated to the discovery of graphene — a monolayergraphite — in 2004. First of all, graphene possesses ex-tra-ordinary for condensed matter electronic propertiesdue to specific form of its electronic spectrum. The lowenergy dispersion of charge carriers (electrons and holes)is described in graphene by massless two-dimensionalDirac Hamiltonian where the role of spin of relativisticfermions plays a pseudospin index connected with theinternal two-sublattice structure of the honeycomb latticeof carbon atoms. The Dirac-like behavior of charge quasi-particle excitations in graphene results in many unusualfor solid state physics electronic properties of this mate-rial such as anomalous («half-integer») quantum Hall ef-fect (observed even at room temperatures) and the mi-nimum conductivity of neutral, or undoped, graphenesamples of the order of conductance quantum. Uniqueelectronic properties and the scalability of graphene de-vices to nanoscale sizes make this — now in some senseprima material — a very promising component for a fu-ture nano- and even spin-electronics. On the other hand,recently, it was experimentally shown that mechanicalproperties of carbon monolayer (in particular, its second-and third-order elastic stiffness) are one of the best amongstrongest materials ever measured.Another aspect of the current extra-ordinary interest tographene is connected to true fundamental physics. Diracelectronic spectrum in pure graphene makes it possible totheoretically study and experimentally test unusual andstill unobserved effects of relativistic physics, such asZitterbewegung (jittery motion of the wave functions),Klein paradox, atomic collapse and others, in laboratory.Though, every researcher should have in mind that Diracfermion speed in graphene is 300 times less than the speedof light. Besides, because of the quasiparticles ingraphene exist in slightly curved plane space a large simi-larity with particle propagation in gravitational field isalso appeared. It is also known that conducting electronsystem in metallic single wall carbon nanotubes is de-scribed by the theory of Luttinger liquid and the most sig-nificant prediction of this theory were observed in experi-ments with these remarkable nanoobjects. All above saidsound that the scientific potentialities of graphene seemto be unlimited.Graphene, being a novel isolated material, for manyyears was known as a principal building block of car-bon-based structures («zero-dimensional» resonant va-lence bond molecules — benzene, fullerenes andmetallofullerenes, «one-dimensional» carbon nanotubesand graphene stripes, «three-dimensional» graphite). Forinstance, last decade carbon nanotubes were one of thehottest topic of theoretical and experimental investiga-tions in physics and chemistry. Therefore it is evidentwhy Editorial Board of the journal came to the conclusionthat the appearance of the special «graphene issue»should be important and interesting.The papers published in this special issue of «FizikaNizkikh Temperatur» are original investigations andshort reviews where the recent progress in the physics ofgraphene, carbon nanotubes and semiconducting quan-tum wires is in detail discussed. We hope that our pro-ceedings published on the top of interest to graphene willcontribute to better understanding of the interplay of rela-tivistic effects and crystal state properties of these re-markable one- and two-dimensional solid state systems.I.V. Krive, V.M. Loktev, and R.I. Shekhter

Graphene and graphene-based nanostructures

http://dspace.nbuv.gov.ua/bitstream/handle/123456789/117554/01-Krive.pdf?sequence=1

Graphene and graphene-based nanostructures

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Наукова електронна бібліотека періодичних видань НАН України (Vernadsky National Library of Ukraine)