Graphene is a crystalline allotrope of carbon in the form of a nearly transparent one atom thick sheet. It is hundreds of times stronger than most steels by weight. 2D Materials, sometimes mentioned as single layer materials, are crystalline materials consisting of one layer of atoms. These materials have found use in applications such as photovoltaic, semiconductors, electrodes and water purification. The most common allotropic sort of carbon is graphite which is an abundant natural mineral and alongside diamond has been known since antiquity. Graphite consists of sp2 hybridized carbon atomic layers which are stacked together by weak van der Waals forces. The single layers of carbon atoms tightly packed into a two-dimensional (2D) honeycomb crystal lattice is called graphene. Graphite exhibits an interesting anisotropic behavior with reference to thermal and electrical conductivity. The carbon atoms within the graphene layer form three ? bonds with neighboring carbon atoms by overlapping of sp2 orbitals while the remaining pz orbitals overlap to make a band of filled ? orbitals-the valence band – and a band of empty ?* orbitals-the conduction band-which are responsible for the high in-plane conductivity.
Fullerenes and their derivatives possess a number of potentially useful physical, biological and chemical properties. Our interest in the chemistry of fullerenes led us to present this review in which we have attempted to furnish an overall picture of the properties of these novel molecules. The scope of the review is however limited. The technique developed by Kratschmer et al. for preparing and isolating macroscopic quantities of C6o, 'a new form of carbon', opened the way for exploring the molecular and bulk properties of these novel species. There are several practical applications of fullerenes. Antifriction, antiwear and antiseize properties of grease are improved within the presence of C6o.The use of dissolved fullerene catalyst as inhibitor of coking reactions, thereby inhibiting formation of coke on a catalyst or catalyst support by eliminating nucleating points or growth regions for such coke formation is reported. In petrochemical and refining industries, efficient production of many hydrocarbon products are often hindered by fouling, resulting from unwitting polymerization of reactive olefins like 1, 3-butadiene, isoprene or styrene. It is shown that ppm levels of fullerenes inhibit the thermal polymerization of activated olefins like styrene and butyl methacrylate.
