Graphene physics is currently one of the most active research areas in condensed matter physics. Countless theoretical and experimental studies have already been performed, targeting electronic, magnetic, thermal, optical, structural and vibrational properties. Also, studies that modify pristine graphene, aiming at finding new physics and possible new applications, have been considered. These include patterning nanoribbons and quantum dots, exposing graphene's surface to different chemical species, studying multilayer systems, and inducing strain and curvature (modifying in this way graphene's electronic properties). This focus issue includes many of the latest developments on graphene research.

Focus on Graphene Contents

Electronic properties of graphene and graphene nanoribbons with 'pseudo-Rashba' spin-orbit coupling
Tobias Stauber and John Schliemann

Strained graphene: tight-binding and density functional calculations
R M Ribeiro, Vitor M Pereira, N M R Peres, P R Briddon and A H Castro Neto

The effect of sublattice symmetry breaking on the electronic properties of doped graphene
A Qaiumzadeh and R Asgari

Interfaces within graphene nanoribbons
J Wurm, M Wimmer, I Adagideli, K Richter and H U Baranger

Weak localization and transport gap in graphene antidot lattices
J Eroms and D Weiss

Electronic properties of graphene antidot lattices
J A Fürst, J G Pedersen, C Flindt, N A Mortensen, M Brandbyge, T G Pedersen and A-P Jauho

Splitting of critical energies in the n=0 Landau level of graphene
Ana L C Pereira

Double-gated graphene-based devices
S Russo, M F Craciun, M Yamamoto, S Tarucha and A F Morpurgo

Pinning and switching of magnetic moments in bilayer graphene
Eduardo V Castro, M P López-Sancho and M A H Vozmediano

Electronic transport properties of graphene nanoribbons
Katsunori Wakabayashi, Yositake Takane, Masayuki Yamamoto and Manfred Sigrist

Many-body effects on out-of-plane phonons in graphene
J González and E Perfetto

Graphene zigzag ribbons, square lattice models and quantum spin chains
Mahdi Zarea and Nancy Sandler

On the universal ac optical background in graphene
V P Gusynin, S G Sharapov and J P Carbotte

Heat conduction in graphene: experimental study and theoretical interpretation
S Ghosh, D L Nika, E P Pokatilov and A A Balandin

Calculation of the Raman G peak intensity in monolayer graphene: role of Ward identities
D M Basko

Electronic transport in bilayer graphene
Mikito Koshino

Magnetic Kronig-Penney model for Dirac electrons in single-layer graphene
M Ramezani Masir, P Vasilopoulos and F M Peeters

Electrical transport in high-quality graphene pnp junctions
Jairo Velasco Jr, Gang Liu, Wenzhong Bao and Chun Ning Lau

Local density of states and scanning tunneling currents in graphene
N M R Peres, Ling Yang and Shan-Wen Tsai

Gaps and tails in graphene and graphane
B Dóra and K Ziegler

Quasi-ferromagnet spintronics in the graphene nanodisc-lead system
Motohiko Ezawa

Range and correlation effects in edge disordered graphene nanoribbons
Alessandro Cresti and Stephan Roche

Remarks on the tight-binding model of graphene
Cristina Bena and Gilles Montambaux