Xene heterostructures

The idea to grow the same or a different material on a substrate to create a homostructure or a heterostructure was typically grounded with multiple applications of the semiconductors technology in the electronic and photonic devices. Today, the renewed interest in this topic is mainly driven by the two-dimensional materials that can be assembled in heterostructures to explore new functionalities. In this framework, the recent outcomes involving the Xenes, namely the graphene-like artificial lattices, look promising for the establishment of a new family of heterostructures with new and exciting properties. The synthetic nature of the Xenes thus turns out to be the key enabler for assembling lateral or vertical Xene heterostructures. Here, the growth schemes and the physical properties of Xene homostructures and heterostructures reported to date will be reviewed and their future challenges and perspectives will be tentatively outlined.