Carbon, the fourth most abundant and one of the most important elements present in the universe. Also known as the backbone of life holds a significant place in living as well as non-living world forming numerous compounds and structures. Due to its remarkable property to form bonds with other carbon atoms also known as Catenation, giving rise to various formations from valuable Diamonds to cheap Graphite, one such formation is Graphene.
Discovered by Andre Geim and Konstantin Novoselov in the year 2004 from its parent material Graphite. Graphene is an allotrope of Carbon, having a 2-dimensional, Single atom thick sheet like structure of hexagonal carbon rings arranged in repeating sequences in honeycomb like fashion. It is light in weight, Transparent, Hard about 200 times stronger than Steel, Good conductor of electricity, Flexible with good tensile strength and has good Thermal & Chemical Stability. Apart from this Graphene can be further modified into Carbon Nano Tubes, Fullerenes, Graphene Quantum Dots, Graphene Oxide etc as per requirements and end applications. Owing to these remarkable properties, Graphene finds its applications in various industries from Paints & Coatings to Biomedical & Healthcare to Aerospace Engineering.
The Market size of Graphene in India as in year 2024 was approximately USD 9 million and it is expected to grow in the upcoming years with a CAGR of approximately 31 % from 2025 to 2033 possibly due to rise in demand across different industries. However, India is still in infant stage in the production and using graphene but in the upcoming years it holds the potential to rule the market in composites and other sectors. It is environment friendly and can help to replace hazardous materials such as Heavy metals, Asbestos, Certain Solvents and Chemical Stabilizers etc which are currently being used. It imparts an additional advantage as the world is shifting towards sustainable and eco-friendly materials. India also aimed to reduce carbon emission and to be net zero by 2070. The main challenge faced by the customers is its price being expensive it is generally neglected but the continuous research and developments in manufacturing may prove beneficial to cut the production cost.
Being a Carbon material but with outstanding properties and applications in various industries makes graphene different from other carbon materials. Graphene is a revolutionary product it is indeed the material of the future.