Challenges and Opportunities in 2D Materials

InfoMetricsFiguresRef. Accounts of Chemical ResearchVol 57/Issue 21Article This publication is free to access through this site. Learn More CiteCitationCitation and abstractCitation and referencesMore citation options ShareShare onFacebookX (Twitter)WeChatLinkedInRedditEmailJump toExpandCollapse EditorialNovember 5, 2024Challenges and Opportunities in 2D MaterialsClick to copy article linkArticle link copied!Christopher E. Shuck*Christopher E. ShuckDepartment of Chemistry and Chemical Biology, Rutgers University, Piscataway, New Jersey 08840, United States*Email: [email protected]More by Christopher E. Shuckhttps://orcid.org/0000-0002-1274-8484Xu XiaoXu XiaoState Key Laboratory of Electronic Thin Film and Integrated Devices, School of Physics, University of Electronic Science and Technology of China, Chengdu 610054, ChinaMore by Xu Xiaohttps://orcid.org/0000-0001-6423-3039Zhiyong WangZhiyong WangMax Planck Institute of Microstructure Physics, 06120 Halle (Saale), GermanyMore by Zhiyong Wanghttps://orcid.org/0000-0002-0909-9495Open PDFAccounts of Chemical ResearchCite this: Acc. Chem. Res. 2024, 57, 21, 3079–3080Click to copy citationCitation copied!https://pubs.acs.org/doi/10.1021/acs.accounts.4c00625https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.accounts.4c00625Published November 5, 2024 Publication History Received 27 September 2024Published online 5 November 2024Published in issue 5 November 2024editorialCopyright © Published 2024 by American Chemical Society. This publication is available under these Terms of Use. Request reuse permissionsThis publication is licensed for personal use by The American Chemical Society. ACS PublicationsCopyright © Published 2024 by American Chemical SocietySubjectswhat are subjectsArticle subjects are automatically applied from the ACS Subject Taxonomy and describe the scientific concepts and themes of the article.Chemical synthesisCovalent organic frameworksDefectsQuantum effectsTwo dimensional materialsSince their discovery in 2004, beginning with graphene, the field of two-dimensional (2D) materials has expanded tremendously as additional families of materials are discovered. These families include MXenes, transition metal dichalcogenides (TMDs), 2D metal–organic frameworks (MOFs) and covalent organic frameworks (COFs), 2D polymers, perovskites, oxides, and many others. 2D materials experience quantum confinement, have ultrahigh surface area to volume ratios, and have anisotropic properties, which result in unique material properties. Moreover, when coupled with the specific family based properties, 2D materials again broaden and diversify their properties; for example, they can have metallic-like conductivity or be semiconductors or insulators. The same diversity occurs in every physiochemical property. Due to this broad range of properties, 2D materials have been widely studied and demonstrated to solve problems that no other class of materials can. Benefiting from their unique properties, 2D materials receive significant attention worldwide, and thousands of research groups strive to understand every aspect of these materials.One major opportunity in 2D materials is the controllable synthesis and discovery science. Within the 2D material space, the synthesis approach plays an outsized role in the key materials attributes such as defect densities, surface functionalization, flake sizes, and much more. Moreover, many of the families of 2D materials contain a broad set of chemistries; there remain significant gaps in knowledge on how the chemistry of 2D materials affects their properties. Within many of the more recent families of 2D materials, there is still ample fundamental science being conducted related to which chemistries can be incorporated. Following synthesis, postsynthetic modifications, including single-atom doping and grafting reactions, further refine their properties. Finally, understanding the scalability of 2D materials synthesis enabling their use beyond the laboratory is key.Another major opportunity is a fundamental understanding as to why they have the properties that they do. 2D materials have demonstrated a variety of interesting quantum effects, such as superconductivity, weak localization, topological insulation, and others. In many cases, these quantum effects can lead to novel applications, such as valleytronics or twistronics. Beyond quantum effects, fundamental questions remain about the origin of the electronic, chemical, mechanical, biological, and physical properties. For many 2D material systems, fundamental studies related to their properties are overlooked by groups wanting to delve directly into applications. However, a rational understanding of the structure of 2D materials and their resultant properties is key to exceeding the state-of-the-art. In many cases, theoretical studies related to 2D materials rely on simplified systems that ignore defects, inclusions, and other detrimental effects; but these are often pivotal to understanding 2D systems. Bridging the gap between experimental and theoretical work will benefit scientists across every discipline of 2D materials.In terms of applications, it is nearly impossible to overstate how important 2D materials will be for shaping our future. It is vital to consider which applications best utilize the novel properties that 2D materials bring, specifically within each class of materials. Validation of these experiments and applications is necessary; demonstrations of a single device with exceptional performance are not sufficient, instead focus should be placed on reproducibility of these devices, especially within the context of how they will be used in the real world. Moreover, when exceptional performance is demonstrated, understanding why this performance occurs is necessary; simple demonstrations are important but only provide a surface-level understanding of the phenomena that occur.Finally, understanding and considering the end-stage use of 2D materials is of paramount importance. As reports surface about the detrimental effects of different chemicals and materials that have been commercialized for decades; the 2D materials community has a responsibility to avoid these same issues. This necessitates studies dedicated to full life cycle analysis; determining truly green synthesis pathways that maintain the properties of interest, while minimizing negative effects on the environment. The end-of-life degradation or recycling of 2D materials is important; while 2D materials have exciting properties, it is a moral obligation to ensure that their use-cases have an overall positive effect on the world. In many cases, it is almost certain that these materials will be discharged into the environment, thus it is necessary to understand whether they are ecologically damaging prior to their widespread use. Novel technologies and approaches that can reclaim or reuse 2D materials present an opportunity that can have outsized effects on the future world.In this special issue of Accounts of Chemical Research, leading scientists spanning different classes of 2D materials have been invited to give updates related to the state-of-the-art in their field. Through this collection, we aim to foster cross-disciplinary dialogue and reveal new opportunities that may emerge at the intersections of these rapidly advancing fields.Author InformationClick to copy section linkSection link copied!Corresponding AuthorChristopher E. Shuck, Guest Editor, Department of Chemistry and Chemical Biology, Rutgers University, Piscataway, New Jersey 08840, United States, https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1274-8484, Email: [email protected]AuthorsXu Xiao, Guest Editor, State Key Laboratory of Electronic Thin Film and Integrated Devices, School of Physics, University of Electronic Science and Technology of China, Chengdu 610054, China, https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6423-3039Zhiyong Wang, Guest Editor, Max Planck Institute of Microstructure Physics, 06120 Halle (Saale), Germany, https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0909-9495NotesViews expressed in this editorial are those of the authors and not necessarily the views of the ACS.Cited By Click to copy section linkSection link copied!This article has not yet been cited by other publications.Download PDFFiguresReferences Get e-AlertsGet e-AlertsAccounts of Chemical ResearchCite this: Acc. Chem. Res. 2024, 57, 21, 3079–3080Click to copy citationCitation copied!https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.accounts.4c00625Published November 5, 2024 Publication History Received 27 September 2024Published online 5 November 2024Published in issue 5 November 2024Copyright © Published 2024 by American Chemical Society. This publication is available under these Terms of Use. Request reuse permissionsArticle Views-Altmetric-Citations-Learn about these metrics closeArticle Views are the COUNTER-compliant sum of full text article downloads since November 2008 (both PDF and HTML) across all institutions and individuals. These metrics are regularly updated to reflect usage leading up to the last few days.Citations are the number of other articles citing this article, calculated by Crossref and updated daily. Find more information about Crossref citation counts.The Altmetric Attention Score is a quantitative measure of the attention that a research article has received online. 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