Abstract
The last two decades have witnessed a tremendous growth in the
development and understanding of sp(2) carbon-based nanostructures. The
impact of this research has led to a number of fundamental discoveries
that have played a central role in the understanding of many aspects of
materials physics and their applications. Much of this progress has been
enabled by the development of new techniques to prepare, modify, and
assemble low-dimensional materials into devices. The field has also
benefited greatly from much progress in theoretical and computational
modeling, as well as from advances in characterization techniques
developed to probe and manipulate single atomic layers, nanoribbons, and
nanotubes. Some of the most fundamental physical properties of sp(2)
carbon-based nanostructures are reviewed and their role as model systems
for solid-state physics in one and two dimensions is highlighted. The
objective of this review is to provide a thorough account on current
understanding of how the details of the atomic structure affect phonons,
electrons, and transport in these nanomaterials. The review starts with
a description of the behavior of single-layer and few-layer graphene and
then expands into the analysis of nanoribbons and nanotubes in terms of
their reduced dimensionality and curvature. How the properties can be
modified and tailored for specific applications is then discussed. The
review concludes with a historical perspective and considers some open
questions concerning future directions in the physics of low-dimensional
systems and their impact on continued advances in solid-state physics,
and also looks beyond carbon nanosystems.
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