Graphene is a synthetic substance with potential applications from healthcare to energy storage. Photo: Evan Collis
 

Stronger than steel, six times lighter and one of the best conducting materials, graphene is a wonder material with endless applications.

Griffith University at South Bank will hold the first Australian international symposium on devices using the synthetic substance from July 11-14.

The four-day Fifth International Symposium on Graphene Devices will bring some of the greatest industry minds to the city to learn about applications graphene can have in areas such as energy, health care, technology and possibly making a protective coating that may save your iPhone from shattering.

Don't get too excited as the applications for graphene may still be a decade away, but the conference chair Associate Professor Francesca Iacopi said this conference in Brisbane was helping pave the way to the future of this material.

"There's a huge amount of researchers worldwide working on graphene because of its thin and specific structure," Professor Iacopi said.
 

"It has properties that no other material can achieve so it really is an exceptional material.

"These applications may be 10 years from now but it we're entering the phase of application so it's very exciting from that point of view."

The material has already been marked for use in making flexible digital screens, quick-charging batteries, unpierceable tyres, nano lighting and wearable technology.