Graphene’s cousin: the present and future of graphane

The so-called graphane is a fully hydrogenated form of graphene. Because it is fully hydrogenated, graphane is expected to have a wide bandgap and is theoretically an electrical insulator. The transition from graphene to graphane is that of an electrical conductor, to a semiconductor, and ultimately to an electrical insulator. This unique characteristic of graphane has recently gained both academic and industrial interest. Towards the end of developing novel applications of this important class of nanoscale material, computational modeling work has been carried out by a number of theoreticians to predict the structures and electronic properties of graphane. At the same time, experimental evidence has emerged to support the proposed structure of graphane. This review article covers the important aspects of graphane including its theoretically predicted structures, properties, fabrication methods, as well as its potential applications.