Issue 17, 2013

Two-dimensional semiconductors: recent progress and future perspectives

Abstract

Graphene with a sp2-honeycomb carbon lattice has drawn a large amount of attention due to its excellent properties and potential applications in many fields. Similar to the structure of graphene, two-dimensional semiconductors are its two-dimensional and isostructural counterparts based on the typical layer-structured semiconductors, such as boron nitride (h-BN) and transition metal dichalcogenides (e.g. MoS2 and WS2), whose layers are bound by weak van der Waals forces. Unlike the semi-metal features of graphene, the two-dimensional semiconductors are natural semiconductors with thicknesses on the atomic scale. When one of the dimensions is extremely reduced, the two-dimensional semiconductors exhibit some unique properties, such as a transition from indirect to direct semiconductor properties, and hence have great potential for applications in electronics, energy storage, sensors, catalysis and composites, which arise both from the dimension-reduced effect and from the modified electronic structure. In this feature article, recent developments in the synthesis, properties and applications of two-dimensional semiconductors are discussed. The reported virtues and novelties of two-dimensional semiconductors are highlighted and the current problems in their developing process are clarified, in addition to their challenges and future prospects.

Graphical abstract: Two-dimensional semiconductors: recent progress and future perspectives

Article information

Article type
Feature Article
Submitted
25 Nov 2012
Accepted
28 Jan 2013
First published
28 Jan 2013

J. Mater. Chem. C, 2013,1, 2952-2969

Two-dimensional semiconductors: recent progress and future perspectives

X. Song, J. Hu and H. Zeng, J. Mater. Chem. C, 2013, 1, 2952 DOI: 10.1039/C3TC00710C

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