Graphyne and graphdiyne
CAlso called GDY, sp–sp² carbon networks
Carbon arranged differently: flat sheets with regularly spaced holes, proposed on paper in 1987 and first synthesised as graphdiyne in 2010. The built-in pores and a band gap, which graphene lacks, make it interesting for catalysis, batteries and separations – but crystalline, large-area material is still very hard to make.
Key properties
- Uniform in-plane pores about 0.54 nm across in graphdiyne (18-carbon rings)
- Predicted graphdiyne gap ~0.5 eV (PBE) to ~1.1 eV (GW); measured values scatter widely because real samples are disordered
- Predicted lithium storage up to ~744 mAh/g for graphdiyne, about twice graphite’s 372 mAh/g
- 6,6,12-graphyne is predicted to have direction-dependent Dirac cones
How it is made
- Glaser–Hay cross-coupling of hexaethynylbenzene on copper foil – the original route, giving multilayer films of limited crystallinity
- Interfacial synthesis at liquid/liquid or gas/liquid boundaries – thinner, more ordered nanosheets
- Mechanochemical and alkyne-metathesis routes to other graphyne variants – recent and research-stage
Uses, and how close they are
- Battery anodes and electrocatalyst supportslab
- Gas separation and water purification membraneslab
Readiness runs lab → prototype → pilot → deployed.
Open problems
- Can highly crystalline, single-layer graphdiyne be made over large areas, so that measured properties can finally be compared with theory?
- Do the predicted Dirac cones of α-, β- and 6,6,12-graphyne survive in real, substrate-supported samples?
- How much of the reported catalytic activity comes from the carbon network rather than from residual copper?
Going deeper
Short notes for specialists. Choose a lens in the header and yours comes first.
A clean test of how sp/sp2 hybridisation reshapes band structure. Gaps are highly functional-sensitive – PBE, HSE and GW differ by roughly a factor of two – and excitonic effects are strong. Tight-binding models with separate sp and sp2 hoppings reproduce the Dirac-cone variants; phonon calculations should confirm that the acetylenic linkages are dynamically stable.
Sample quality is the central problem. Confirm acetylenic linkages by Raman (conjugated diyne modes near 1,930 and 2,190 cm−1) and XPS (sp:sp2 ratio), and check crystallinity by SAED or HRTEM – many films reported as graphdiyne are largely amorphous. Report residual copper from the synthesis.
Not yet manufacturable: syntheses are batch, slow and rely on expensive molecular precursors. Worth watching for catalyst supports and membranes, where perfect crystallinity matters less.
Recent news
The newest items tagged Graphyne, from the news feed updated 5 Oct 2026.
Wavelike phonon tunneling dominates thermal transport in the lightweight α-graphyne lattice
Crystalline solids exhibiting glasslike (ultralow) thermal conductivity have received substantial attention, owing to their significance in fundamental physics and practical applications like thermal insulation and thermoelectric devices. Conventionally, achieving this desirable, intrinsically therm… [Phys. Rev. B 114…
All 7 items tagged Graphyne in the news feed · RSS feed for Graphyne
Key references
- Structure-property predictions for new planar forms of carbon: layered phases containing sp2 and sp atomscited by 1,667doi:10.1063/1.453405
- Architecture of graphdiyne nanoscale filmscited by 2,849doi:10.1039/b922733d
- Competition for graphene: graphynes with direction-dependent Dirac conescited by 1,250doi:10.1103/PhysRevLett.108.086804