Chemical insights into two-dimensional quantum materials

Summary

When materials are reduced to two dimensions, novel and versatile quantum functions emerge. Benefiting from unique electron-electron, electron-photon, and photon-photon interactions, two-dimensional (2D) quantum materials display plenty of quantum phenomena, including superconductivity, ferromagnetism, ferroelectricity, charge density wave, and quantum Hall effect. These properties are derived from the chemical composition and phase structure of the material, which can be chemically customized. Therefore, it is crucial to understand and conclude the process of 2D material design and synthesis from chemical insights to further research the intrinsic quantum physics and better explore potential properties and applications of 2D quantum materials. In this review, we first summarize the recent advance of 2D quantum phenomena, then give the universal design paradigm from two aspects (element dependence and phase dependence), and, last, we propose different synthesis resolutions. We also summarize the challenges in this area and put forward a feasible solution.