Sample of graphene obtained using Scotch sticky tape at the University of Manchester

Sample of graphene obtained using Scotch sticky tape at the University of Manchester, showing multilayers, bilayers and monolayer thicknesses of graphene, 2004-2010.

In 2004 Andre Geim and Konstantin Novoselov found a reliable and cheap method for obtaining monolayer graphene flakes from graphite, using scotch tape. After initially isolating graphene, Geim and Novoselov conducted experiments in their lab at the University of Manchester to explore the electrical properties of graphene. They found that graphene flakes can be used as transistors. They made hand-made circuits like this one, then more precisely made lithographically printed circuits. They went on to win the Nobel Prize in Physics in 2010 for their 'groundbreaking experiments regarding the two-dimensional material graphene'.