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Graphene

Key Stage 4

Meaning

Graphene is an allotrope of carbon in which the atoms are bonded in a hexagonal arrangement in a single layer.

GrapheneStructure.png
A diagram showing the arrangement of carbon atoms in graphene.

About Graphene

Graphene is a giant covalent structure.
Graphene is a single layer of graphite.
Graphene is a good electrical conductor because it only uses 3 out of the 4 electrons in the outer shell to bond with other atoms allowing the last electron to move freely around the giant covalent structure.
Large sheets of graphene are extremely strong which is a very useful property. A layer of graphene as thin as cling film could support the weight of an entire elephant.

References

AQA

Graphene, page 88, GCSE Combined Science Trilogy; Chemistry, CGP, AQA
Graphene, page 90, GCSE Chemistry, CGP, AQA
Graphene, page 119, GCSE Combined Science; The Revision Guide, CGP, AQA
Graphene, page 34, GCSE Chemistry; The Revision Guide, CGP, AQA
Graphene, page 51, GCSE Chemistry; Third Edition, Oxford University Press, AQA
Graphene, page 55, GCSE Chemistry, Hodder, AQA
Graphene, pages 167-8, GCSE Combined Science Trilogy 1, Hodder, AQA
Graphene, pages 84-5, 88, 343, GCSE Chemistry; Student Book, Collins, AQA

Edexcel

Grapheme, page 44, GCSE Chemistry, Pearson, Edexcel
Graphene, page 188, GCSE Combined Science, Pearson Edexcel
Graphene, page 24, GCSE Chemistry; The Revision Guide, CGP, Edexcel
Graphene, page 63, GCSE Chemistry, CGP, Edexcel

OCR

Graphene, page 21, Gateway GCSE Chemistry; The Revision Guide, CGP, OCR
Graphene, page 94, Gateway GCSE Combined Science; The Revision Guide, CGP, OCR