Carbon exists in various forms. In addition to diamond
and graphite, there are recently discovered forms with astonishing
properties. For example graphene, with a thickness of just one
atomic layer, is the thinnest known material, and its unusual
properties make it an extremely exciting candidate for applications
like future electronics and high-tech engineering. In graphene,
each carbon atom is linked to three neighbors, forming hexagons
arranged in a honeycomb network. Theoretical studies have shown
that carbon atoms can also arrange in other flat network patterns,
while still binding to three neighbors, but none of these predicted
networks had been realized until now.
Not graphene: Researchers discover new type of atomically
thin carbon material
