ABSTRACT
One of the major challenges of present-day astrophysics and astrochemistry is to understand the formation pathways of complex organic molecules such as graphene and fullerenes in space. Such complex compounds have been found on meteorites and on Earth and their study may have important implications for the enrichment of the early solar system and possibly on the origin of life on Earth. The recent and unexpected detection of fullerenes (C60 and C70) and graphene (possible planar C24) around old stars such as our Sun indicates that these relatively complex molecules may be ubiquitous in the interstellar medium, playing an important role in many aspects of space chemistry and physics. This raises the exciting possibility that graphene and other carbon nanostructures could be widespread in the Universe. The formation process of graphene in space could be different to the production methods employed on Earth and its astrochemical study extends well to other disciplines such as experimental physics and chemistry. By crossing the boundaries of astrophysics, astrochemistry, and several elds of applied research for technological development, it is possible to study the formation route of graphene in space with their potential applications in technology research and industry.
