Two-dimensional semiconducting antimonene in nanophotonic applications – A review

Since its discovery in 2015, antimonene, as an emerging 2D material, has rapidly gained popularity due to its unique optical and electronic properties. Both theoretical and experimental studies have verified its remarkable semiconducting properties, including a tunable bandgap, high carrier mobility, low thermal conductivity, and superior optical response, which are undoubtedly promising for practical applications in numerous fields. Especially, the interaction of semiconducting antimonene with photons has significant potential in nanophotonic applications, and a growing number of related works have been reported in the past few years. In this review, the semiconducting properties of antimonene are first introduced by theoretical analysis of its band structure, carrier mobility, thermal property, and optical response. Subsequently, we summarize the latest research on antimonene with its applications in nanophotonics, including photodetectors, solar cells, photocatalysis, cancer therapy, surface plasmon resonance sensor, and nonlinear photonic devices. Finally, we discuss perspectives for applying antimonene in wider areas based on its semiconducting properties as well as some challenges that need to be overcome.