How was graphene discovered?

All kids at school have the potential to make graphene, all they need is a pencil, sticky tape and a bit of patience!

The “wonder material”, graphene, has been discovered in 2004 by the two researchers Professor Andre Geim and Professor Kostya Novoselov at the University of Manchester, UK.

During a so-called “Friday night experiment”, the two scientists removed some flakes from a lump of bulk graphite (like the one you can find in pencils) with a Scotch tape. They discovered that some flakes where thinner than others and used the Scotch tape to peel off layer after layer until they arrived at a flake that was just one atom thick. They had managed to separate graphene for the very first time. In 2010 they were awarded the Nobel Prize in Physics for their discovery.

Since then, graphene has emerged as one of the most promising nanomaterials because of its unique and versatile properties.