The super materials that could trump graphene

Abstract

2D 2D 2D 2DP hysicists have used almost every superlative they can think of to describe graphene. This gossamer, one-atom-thick sheet of carbon is flexible, transparent, stronger than steel, more conductive than copper and so thin that it is effectively two-dimensional (2D). No sooner was it isolated in 2004 than it became an obsession for researchers around the world.But not for Andras Kis. As miraculous as graphene was, says Kis, "I felt there had to be more than carbon. " So in 2008, when he got the chance to start his own research group in nanoscale electronics at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Lausanne (EPFL), Kis focused his efforts on a class of super-flat materials that had been languishing in graphene's shadow.These materials had an ungainly name -transition-metal dichalcogenides (TMDCs) -but a 2D form that was quite simple. A single sheet of transition-metal atoms such as molybdenum or tungsten was sandwiched between equally thin layers of chalcogens: elements, such as sulfur and selenium, that lie below oxygen in the periodic table. TMDCs were almost as thin, transparent and flexible as graphene,

Contrasts between Mild and Harsh Oxidation of Carbon Nanotubes in terms of their Properties and Electrochemical Performance

“…[1][2][3] Once the most promising of all nanomaterials, CNTs now face stiff competition in terms of conductive applications from graphene and other rising 2D materials. [4] Owing to their large surface area, good chemical stability, and excellent mechanical properties, CNT arrays, films, and yarns have found applications in consumer electronics, batteries, polymer composites, aerospace, sensors, heaters, filters, and biomedicine. [5][6][7] As a 1D material, CNTs have generated enormous interest in both theoretical studies and practical applications.…”

Advent of 2D Rhenium Disulfide (ReS2): Fundamentals to Applications

“…sandwiched between two chalcogen planes (S, Se, Te). [13,14] A wide variety of TMDs therefore can be obtained with diverse and controlled electronic properties. A ball and stick diagram of typical TMD, and 2D transition metals (marked green)…”

“…[14,26] Particularly, in optoelectronic device fabrucation, it is likely to overcome the limitation of the bulk Si beacuse of its high absoprtion efficiencies in broadband wavelengths. It has emerged with a vision that ReS2 will apparently be more worthwhile over isotropic TMDs from group VI for all known applications and beyond.…”

Electronic and optical properties of novel carbon allotropes

“…That is, graphene opens an avenue to develop the 2D semiconducting materials for multifunctional optoelectronic device applications in the future, and many other 2D materials which exhibit a variety of extraordinary properties are being explored and designed [8][9][10][11][12] . Because of their atomic scale thickness, the existence of quantum confinements, and other unique planar advantages, 2D materials are attractive for use in low-power, smaller, more flexible, and more efficient next-generation nanoelectronic devices, as well as for catalysis, sensing, and energy storage applications [13][14][15][16][17][18] .…”