Design of Two-Dimensional Functional Materials and Nanodevices

The discovery of graphene in 2004 represents one of the major hallmarks of modern material science and technology. Following the success of graphene, the family of two-dimensional (2D) materials has been expanded enormously, covering broad species such as hexagonal boron nitride, black phosphorus, transition metal dichalcogenides (TMDs), arsenene, metal carbides and nitrides (MXenes), and so on. The expansive family of 2D materials has attracted much attention because of their ultra-thin body, and the distinctive mechanical, optical, electronic, and thermal properties not available in many conventional bulk 3D materials. Importantly, 2D materials can be stacked vertically with different 2D materials or with 0D, 1D and bulk 3D materials to yield nearly limitless combinations of van der Waals heterostructures. As the physical properties of the individual materials are mostly retained, van der Waals heterostructures offer a new paradigm of material engineering in which physical properties can be flexibly designed by selecting the right combinations of materials when forming the heterostructures. The recent advances of 2D materials and their heterostructures not only evoke unusual fundamental physics, chemistry and material sciences but also open up a new avenue for the design of novel functional materials and devices with novel applications in electronics, optoelectronics, photocatalysis, electrocatalysis, solar cell, energy storage, thermoelectric, piezoelectric, ferroelectric, superconductivity, magnetism materials, electron transport, sensors, and quantum devices.

This Research Topic aims to publish Original Research and Review articles related to the computational, theoretical and experimental designs of 2D materials and heterostructures for functional device applications. The Research Topic includes, but are not limited to:

- Design of novel 2D layered materials for electronics, optoelectronics spintronics, valleytronics, photocatalysis, electrocatalysis, solar cell, energy storage, thermoelectricity, piezoelectronics, ferroelectricity, superconductivity, magnetic applications, sensors, and other functional devices;
- Design of functional 2D-material-based heterostructures, including 0D/2D, 1D/2D, 2D/2D, and 3D/2D heterostructures;
- New phenomena and physical properties in 2D materials and heterostructures caused by defects, dopants, and chemical functionalization;
- Engineering and tuning of functional properties of 2D materials and heterostructures by strain engineering and external electric field.