e-ISSN 2150-5551

CN 31-2103/TB

REVIEW [Link]

Physics of 2D Materials for Developing Smart

Devices
Cite as
Nano-Micro Lett.
(2025) 17:197 Neeraj Goel1 *, Rahul Kumar2 *
Received: 19 September 2024
Accepted: 11 December 2024
© The Author(s) 2025

HIGHLIGHTS

• Extensively discussed the physics of various two-dimensional materials enabling them to fabricate smart devices.

• Statistical and quantum physics for understanding the functioning of smart electronic devices with strategies for improving their
performance.

• New advancement in device architectures for developing smart devices.

ABSTRACT Rapid industrialization advancements have grabbed worldwide

attention to integrate a very large number of electronic components into a
smaller space for performing multifunctional operations. To fulfill the grow-
ing computing demand state-of-the-art materials are required for substituting
traditional silicon and metal oxide semiconductors frameworks. Two-dimen-
sional (2D) materials have shown their tremendous potential surpassing the
limitations of conventional materials for developing smart devices. Despite
their ground-breaking progress over the last two decades, systematic studies
providing in-depth insights into the exciting physics of 2D materials are still
lacking. Therefore, in this review, we discuss the importance of 2D materials
in bridging the gap between conventional and advanced technologies due to
their distinct statistical and quantum physics. Moreover, the inherent properties
of these materials could easily be tailored to meet the specific requirements of
smart devices. Hence, we discuss the physics of various 2D materials enabling
them to fabricate smart devices. We also shed light on promising opportunities in developing smart devices and identified the formidable
challenges that need to be addressed.

KEYWORDS 2D materials; Heterostructures; Smart devices; Van der Waals; Flexible electronics

* Neeraj Goel, [Link]@[Link]; Rahul Kumar, rahulkumar@[Link]

1
Department of Electronics and Communication Engineering, Netaji Subhas University of Technology, Dwarka, New Delhi 110078, India
2
Institute of Infrastructure Technology Research and Management, Ahmedabad 380026, India

Vol.:(0123456789)
 197 Page 2 of 42 Nano-Micro Lett. (2025) 17:197

1 Introduction them promising candidates for foldable and wearable flexible

devices [7, 8]. In recent years, stretchable smart devices have
In 1965, Gordon Moore stated that the number of transis- also been developed using 2D materials as these materials
tors on a chip doubles every two years. Over the last 5 dec- can withstand high deformation without losing their inher-
ades, Moore’s law has worked fairly well, driving signifi- ent characteristics. Smart wearable fabrics with tuneable
cant improvement in performance and a sharp decrease in properties could be designed for environmental monitoring,
the prices of electronic circuits. However, it starts saturat- complex computing, and flexible Internet of Things (IoT)
ing particularly due to the introduction of multifunctional applications.
devices as a very large number of components are required Nowadays, 2D metals, layered magnetic materials, van der
to be embedded into the same system leading to excessive Waals (vdW) heterostructures, 2D semiconductors, and insu-
heat generated within the chip [1]. Thus, the scientific com- lators are the most commonly used building blocks for devel-
munity has to look beyond conventional materials to revive oping smart electronic devices. These smart devices have
Moore’s law for making high-performance and low-dimen- been thoroughly explored for photodetectors, light-emitting
sion smart devices. The atomically thinned layered materials diodes, gas sensors, energy storage devices, and [9–12]. For
popularly known as two-dimensional (2D) materials showed example, graphene could be used as the channel region as
a high probability of bringing back Moore’s law to life. The well as for making electrical contacts. Hence, by using only
properties of these 2D materials are completely distinct from graphene, smart devices could be fabricated having superb
their bulk counterpart. The band gap, electron mobility, and mechanical flexibility and transparency without compromis-
contact resistance change very rapidly as the bulk semicon- ing the electronic behavior of devices. These devices could
ductors thinned down to few-layer to monolayer thickness easily switch between two or more different states to meet
[2, 3]. Since the isolation of graphene (the mother of all the desired requirement.
2D material) in 2004 by Prof. Geim and Novoselov, numer- In this review, we discuss the unique and exciting physics
ous other 2D materials have been explored for their wide of 2D materials facilitating the transfer of traditional devices
range of applications in nano-electronic and photonic smart to smart devices, as shown in Fig. 1. We have also discussed
devices. some of the inherent bottlenecks existing in conventional
Similar to graphene, several other 2D materials have materials limiting their uses for modern technological
extensively been studied and grabbed huge attention with applications. We started by examining the role of 2D mate-
their unique electronic, optical, mechanical, and chemical rials in modern electronic devices. Then, we highlighted
properties [4–6]. These 2D materials outperform conven- the recently used strategies for developing smart devices.
tional materials primarily due to the availability of eas- We shed insight into the physics of various techniques in
ily tunable properties in the former, which is an essential improving the performance of pristine 2D materials-based
ingredient for modern smart devices. The intrinsic char- devices. Further, we examine the role of device architec-
acteristics of these materials could easily be tailored by tures serving as the foundation of advanced technological
strain engineering, phase engineering, defect engineering, applications. The subsequent section focuses on potential
forming heterostructures, changing the number of layers, applications of 2D materials including wearable, biomedical,
or modifying the surface morphology. The 2D materials quantum, and energy storage applications. Finally, we wrap
possess negligibly small dimensions in one direction. For up this review by giving an outlook on future opportunities
example, mechanically exfoliated single layers of graphene and the associated technological implications for developing
and ­MoS2 have a thickness of 3.4 and 6.5 Å, respectively. smart devices using 2D materials (Table 1).
The practical applications of traditional devices are lim-
ited by the inherent properties of conventional materials.
For instance, conventional devices are rigid and lose their 2 Device Scaling Using 2D Materials
mechanical and electronic attributes upon bending. The
natural flexible and excellent transparent nature of atomi- Smart devices differ from traditional electronic devices pri-
cally thin materials overcome these limitations and make marily in functionalities, miniaturization, automation, and
data processing capabilities. Bulk silicon (Si) is the primary

© The authors [Link]

Nano-Micro Lett. (2025) 17:197 Page 3 of 42 197

constituent of traditional electronic devices. These conven- materials, these transistors could be shrunk down to molecu-
tional devices offer reliable and efficient operation in memory lar scale without compromising the device’s performance.
devices, MEMS sensors, telecommunications, and mixed-sig- Over the last decade, M­ oS2, one of the well-known 2D mate-
nal processing. However, they failed as the device sizes scaled rials, has emerged as a potential candidate for substituting
down to the atomic scale. These devices also suffer from lim- silicon technology due to its exceptional inherent attributes.
ited flexibility due to the material’s intrinsic properties, mak- Desai et al. have shown M ­ oS2 transistors possessing a gate
ing them less adaptable for developing flexible smart devices. length as low as 1 nm [20]. The device demonstrated an
Data processing is one of the prime components in evaluat- excellent on/off ratio of 1 × ­106, a perfect subthreshold swing
ing the performance of smart devices. The newly emerging of 65 mV ­dec−1, and a very low value of leakage current.
fields such as artificial intelligence and the Internet of Things The carrier mobility of conventional 3D bulk materi-
demand very high computational power and efficient energy- als decreases drastically upon thinning down due to pro-
based electronic devices to perform multiple tasks simultane- nounced interfacial scattering effects. When scaling starts
ously. The silicon transistor technology tried to meet these reducing the dimension of the device beyond a particular
demands by continuously scaling down its size and embed- limit (< 7 nm), the quantum effects become more domi-
ding memory components into the device architecture. Some nating, and hence devices behave unexpectedly and fail to
of the architectural innovation has also been introduced into meet the desired objectives. On the other hand, 2D mate-
the conventional technology for developing smart devices. rials intrinsically possess atomic thin flat surfaces with a
FinFETs, multigate, and nanowire structures allow to reduce very high value of carrier mobility. Elias et al. have dem-
the gate length to 10–15 nm without the occurrence of short onstrated mobility as high as 1­ 06 ­cm2 ­V−1 ­s−1 in graphene
channel effects. However, material innovation is required to at a temperature of 2 K [21]. Similarly, Long et al. have
further reduce the channel length below 5 nm [18]. shown ultrahigh carrier mobility in a field-effect transistor
The unique properties of 2D materials such as atomic comprised of a few nanometer-thick layers of black phos-
thickness, high surface-to-volume ratio, bandgap tunability, phorus [22]. They reported a hole mobility of 45,000 and
and mechanical flexibility bring transformative functionali- 5200 ­cm2 ­V−1 ­s−1 at cryogenic temperature and room tem-
ties beyond the capabilities of conventional Si devices. The perature, respectively. Wu et al. have synthesized atomi-
increasing computation demands the miniaturization of tran- cally thin 2D bismuth oxyselenide ­(Bi2O2Se) by a highly
sistors beyond the limits of Moore’s law which were impos- controllable chemical vapor deposition technique (CVD)
sible to achieve with conventional materials due to scaling [23]. The CVD-grown ­Bi2O2Se showed ultrahigh mobility
limitations and short-channel effects [1]. A large number of more than 20,000 ­cm2 ­V−1 ­s−1 at 2 K and a fairly large
of smart devices require stretching, bending, and folding to value of 313 c­ m2 ­V−1 ­s−1 at room temperature. Hence, the
adapt various surfaces for flexible and wearable electronics superb motilities of 2D materials even at atomic dimensions
applications. However, traditional materials are not suitable facilitate scaling of devices up to a large extent without com-
for these applications paving the way for using 2D materi- promising the performance. Moreover, multifunctionality is
als. Additionally, the 2D materials possess atomic thickness one of the prime requirements for smart devices. 2D materi-
resulting in a very high surface-to-volume ratio, enabling als exhibit phase transitions from one state to another when
them highly suitable for ultrasensitive chemical sensors used exposed to external stimuli allowing different applications
in environmental and health monitoring applications. under different conditions. The quantum confinement effects
The scaling boosts the performance of devices by enhanc- in 2D materials originate tunable bandgaps and nonlinear
ing computational power, reducing power consumption, optical effects making them useful for quantum LEDs, sin-
and lowering cost per operation. Field effect transistors are gle-photon emitters, photodetectors, and solar cells. For a
one of the most important foundational blocks of digital better understanding, we presented key physical properties
electronic devices. In conventional silicon technology, as and performance data of typical 2D materials in a tabular
we reduce the gate length below 5 nm, the leakage current form, in the revised manuscript.
becomes very high, and other short channel effects also The statistical physics of 2D materials delves into their
start dominating [19]. Hence, limiting the scaling of tradi- unique thermodynamic behaviors and transport phenom-
tional silicon-based transistors. With the introduction of 2D ena, which are fundamentally influenced by their reduced
 197 Page 4 of 42 Nano-Micro Lett. (2025) 17:197

Fig. 1  Engineering 2D materials for developing smart devices. Reproduced with permission [13–17]. Copyright (2011), American Chemical
Society

dimensionality. In terms of heat capacity, the phonon density long-range order in 2D systems due to thermal fluctuations,
of states in 2D materials differs significantly from bulk sys- particularly in isotropic systems [52]. However, 2D materials
tems, as in-plane vibrational modes dominate. For instance, having magnetic characteristics like CrI₃ defy this predic-
graphene exhibits an unusual linear temperature dependence tion due to spin–orbit coupling and anisotropy, enabling the
of specific heat at low temperatures, deviating from the cubic realization of 2D ferromagnetism.
law observed in 3D systems. Additionally, 2D materials like On the quantum scale, 2D materials exhibit remarkable
graphene have exceptionally high thermal conductivity, sur- phenomena due to confinement effects. Their band struc-
passing 3000 W m ­ −1 ­K−1 [49], due to long phonon mean ture is profoundly altered compared to their 3D counter-
free paths and minimal scattering. This property makes parts. For instance, graphene features a linear dispersion
them ideal candidates for thermal management applications. near the Dirac points, resulting in massless Dirac fermions
Transport phenomena in 2D systems can be described using [53]. This property allows electrons to travel, leading to
Boltzmann transport theory, which accounts for charge and extremely high conductivity and the absence of backscat-
heat transport processes [50]. 2D materials exhibit high tering. Similarly, transition-metal dichalcogenides (TMDs)
carrier mobility under low scattering conditions; however, like MoS₂ transition from an indirect to a direct bandgap in
defects, impurities, and edge roughness can significantly their monolayer form, which is crucial for optoelectronic
impact their electrical properties. For example, pristine gra- applications such as light-emitting diodes (LEDs) and pho-
phene’s carrier mobility can exceed 200,000 ­cm2 ­V−1 ­s−1 todetectors. Quantum Hall effects (QHE) in 2D materials
[51], but decreases in the presence of defects, which can be result from their electronic band structure and topology. In
studied statistically to model degradation effects. Moreo- graphene, the integer QHE manifests at room temperature
ver, phase transitions in 2D materials also exhibit uncon- due to its robust topological properties, while fractional
ventional behaviors due to unique dimensional constraints. QHE has been observed in other 2D electron gas systems
The Mermin–Wagner theorem predicts the suppression of under strong magnetic fields. Additionally, the Berry phase

© The authors [Link]

Nano-Micro Lett. (2025) 17:197 Page 5 of 42 197

Table 1  Unique physical properties of 2D materials used for various applications

Material Physical properties Applications

Graphene Fast carrier mobility Ultrafast photodetectors [24] and lasers [25]
Bandgap:0 eV Broadband photodetectors[26] (UV to infrared)
Ultrafast carrier relaxation time High-speed optical communication [27], imaging in security [28], and
medical diagnostics [29]
Exceptionally low noise Detection of single gas molecules [30]
High tensile strength (~ 130 GPa) Aerospace and automotive industry [31]
High surface area (~ 2630 ­m2 ­g−1) Energy storage devices like supercapacitors and batteries [32]
TMDs Tunable bandgaps (Bandgap: 1–2.5 eV) Low-power, high-efficiency digital electronics [33]
High absorption coefficient (absorption up Solar cells [34] and photodetectors [35]
to 20% of incident light)
Strong spin–orbit coupling Spintronic [36] and valleytronic [37]
High surface reactivity Hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) in water splitting [38]
Hexagonal Boron Atomically flat surface Surve as perfect substrate for epitaxial growth of other 2D materials [39]
Nitride (h-BN)
Large bandgap (~ 5.9 eV) Excellent electrical insulator [40]
High mechanical strength Protective coating and support material for other 2D materials [41]
High breakdown voltage Gate dielectrics in transistors [42]
Resistance to radiation damage Ideal for space applications and nuclear technology [43]
Phosphorene Tunable bandgaps (Bandgap: 0.3–2 eV) Solar cells [44] and spintronics [45]
Ambipolar conduction Used in optoelectronics and logic circuits for efficient charge transport [46]
Strong light absorption Useful in photodetectors and solar cells [47]
Photoluminescence Light-emitting diodes (LEDs) and lasers [5]
Anisotropic elastic properties Direction-sensitive strain sensors [48]

in graphene (π phase) plays a crucial role in its electronic and photonics to quantum computing and energy storage.
transport, resulting in weak localization and interference By exploring and leveraging these unique characteristics,
phenomena [54]. The interplay of excitons and many-body researchers can develop new technologies that surpass the
interactions is another quantum hallmark of 2D materials. limitations of traditional materials.
Reduced dielectric screening in TMDs leads to high exciton
binding energies, significantly higher than in bulk materi-
3 Strategies for Developing Smart Devices
als. This strong binding enhances light-matter interactions,
Using 2D Materials
essential for photonic and optoelectronic devices. Excitonic
effects also lead to fascinating quantum behaviors such as
The evolution of functionalities in electronic devices has led
Mott transitions, where excitons dissociate into free charges
to the development of smart devices. However, the use of
under high carrier densities.
conventional devices could not address the ever-increasing
Quantum transport phenomena in 2D materials reveal
performance demand. New strategies are required to explore
unique behaviors due to dimensional constraints. Klein
the new functions and advanced principles of recently dis-
tunneling in graphene demonstrates perfect transmission
covered 2D materials. The discovery of these strategies
of electrons through potential barriers, due to its relativ-
upgraded traditional devices into smart devices. These
istic-like Dirac fermions [55]. In TMDs, spin-valley cou-
novel devices offer better control over the functionality of
pling links the spin and valley degrees of freedom, enabling
the device while reducing the power and size requirements.
the emerging field of valleytronics, where valley states are
In recent years, these strategies have attracted huge interest
manipulated for information processing. These statistical
from researchers to solve the existing technological chal-
and quantum properties make 2D materials highly prom-
lenges. For instance, changing the phase of the material
ising for a wide range of applications, from electronics
 197 Page 6 of 42 Nano-Micro Lett. (2025) 17:197

converts it into metallic from its semiconducting behavior, of ­NbTe4. The sheet resistance of N ­ bTe4 was significantly
suitable doping of an element changes the conductivity of higher in crystalline form compared to amorphous form, as
the materials drastically, choice of suitable substrate offers shown in Fig. 2a. The resistance versus voltage characteris-
epitaxial growth, and introducing defects in grown materials tics of ­NbTe4-based memory cells with varying pulse widths
assists in tuning their properties as per the requirements of are displayed in Fig. 2b. At smaller voltages, the phase of
specific applications. Here, in this section, we will discuss ­NbTe4 remains the same due to the low value of Joule heat-
some of the most widely used strategies for developing smart ing energy. However, the phase changes to crystalline with
devices. a further increase in voltage resulting in a wider set/reset
window.
In recent years, strain engineering has also emerged as
3.1 Phase Transition
one of the most potential techniques for reversible and
controlled phase transitions. This technique is widely
The exploration of new phases of materials has been of
used in flexible devices to make them suitable for various
great interest in making them suitable for specific applica-
applications by controlling their physical and electronic
tions. Controlling the phase of 2D materials through exter-
properties. Zhu et al. have reported a semiconductor-to-
nal stimuli has proved to be an effective tool for developing
semimetal phase transition in blue phosphorene oxide
smart devices. The phase transition of single 2D materials
upon applying a moderate strain, as depicted in Fig. 2c
modulates their properties to meet specific needs. There
[67]. A very small tensile strain of 0.6% reduces the direct
are numerous ways such as chemically driven transition,
bandgap to zero while compressive strain increases the
thermally induced transition, strain-induced transition,
bandgap of the material. In another work, Song et al. have
laser-induced transition, electric-field induced transition,
demonstrated that upon applying a very low tensile strain
and electrostatic-doping induced transition for develop-
(0.2%), the ­MoTe2 makes a transition from semiconduct-
ing different phases of 2D materials [56–60]. For instance,
ing (2H) to metallic (1T′) phase and hence enhances the
­MoS2 undergoes a phase transition from 2H to 1T phase
conductance by 10,000 times (Fig. 2d) [68].
upon alkali metal intercalation by changing its coordination
The phase change in 2D materials in the presence of
from trigonal prismatic to octahedral [61]. This structural
external stimuli could be explained by Landau phase tran-
change occurs due to charge transfer from the alkali metal
sition theory [69]. In response to a large external electric
to the transition-metal d orbitals. Hence, depending upon the
field, magnetic field, temperature, pressure, or strain, the
requirement, ­MoS2 could work as a semiconductor in the 2H
2D materials form quantized Landau levels. In 2D materi-
phase or could be used as a metal in the 1T phase.
als, properties of these quantized energy levels have been
Temperature also works as a potential external stimulus
studied using scanning tunnelling spectroscopy and elec-
to drive the phase transition. Similar to M ­ oS2, another 2D
tron transport measurements. Landau’s model explains the
material ­MoTe2 could make the phase transition from 2H to
phase change in 2D materials through order transitions
1T′ at high temperature due to higher entropy of 1T′ phase
reflecting symmetry-breaking phenomena. First-order
[62, 63]. In addition to temperature, laser heating could also
and second-order phase transition occurs in 2D materi-
be used for ­MoTe2 phase transition due to the generation
als resulting in different physical properties of the sys-
of Te vacancies [64]. Yang et al. have also demonstrated a
tems, such as such as the metal–insulator transition in
temperature-dependent phase change memory using ­MoTe2
TMDs. The unconventional valley-dependent Landau
films [65]. The resistive switching originated from the phase
levels transition in graphene, silicene, and TMDs possess
transition of ­MoTe2 from semiconducting (2H) to metallic
valley-dependent orbital moment. Ju et al. have reported
(1T′). Shuang et al. have reported phase-change random
valley-dependent optical transitions in bilayer graphene by
access memory using ­NbTe4 [66]. Amorphous ­NbTe4 was
examining inter-Landau levels transitions [70]. In another
grown through the sputtering technique and converted to
work, Chen et al. demonstrated a bandgap of ~ 38 meV in
crystalline form by post-annealing. The device offers better
epitaxial graphene/h-BN heterostructures by analyzing the
thermal stability and reduced energy requirements due to
Landau level transitions [71]. Moreover, the Landau level
the low melting point and high crystallization temperature
transitions play a crucial role in exploring the fundamental

© The authors [Link]

Nano-Micro Lett. (2025) 17:197 Page 7 of 42 197

physics of 2D materials. These Landau-level transitions Doping involves donating or accepting electrons to
could be controlled by magnetization, electron density, or manipulate the charge density of the host semiconductors.
lattice distortion to unlock novel functionalities in next- A dopant could work as a donor or acceptor depending on
generation smart devices. its highest occupied molecular orbital (HOMO) and lowest
In summary, phase transition strongly affects the physical, unoccupied molecular orbital (LUMO) levels relative to the
chemical, and electronic properties of 2D materials, offering Fermi level of the material. Apart from the required doping,
a wide tunability for various applications. For instance, in the substrate trap states could also modify the Fermi level of
TMDs the phase transition between 2H and 1T modifies the the material due to localized energy states. Broadly, doping
material properties from semiconducting to metallic state, in 2D materials could be categorized into two: substitutional
enabling them for device engineering. Moreover, phase tran- doping and surface charge transfer doping [73, 74]. In sub-
sitions modulate the bandgap of 2D materials changing the stitutional doping, one or more atoms of the host material
light absorption and emission properties in photodetectors. get substituted by the dopants. The substitutional doping
Highly sensitive broadband photodetectors with improved could disturb the original structure of the 2D material. On
figures-of-merit could be designed using phase transition. In the other hand, when doping is obtained by electron transfer
addition, combining phase transitions with other strategies, between 2D materials and dopants, it is called surface charge
such as doping and functionalization offers an extra edge for transfer doping. One of the primary advantages of surface
tailoring the intrinsic properties of 2D materials due to the charge transfer doping is that it cannot damage the structure
synergistic effects. of the material. Moreover, surface charge transfer doping
offers a reversible process through the desorption of dopants
from the material surface. However, substitutional doping is
3.2 Elemental Doping an irreversible process due to the presence of strong chemi-
cal bonds between host material and dopants.
Non-destructive doping is one of the primary challenges Most of the earlier research has reported a high level of
in tuning the properties of 2D materials for developing doping in TMDs, converting their semiconductor behavior
smart devices. A particular amount of suitable dopant near to metallic. Therefore, controlled doping in 2D materi-
changes the carrier concentration and controls the electri- als is essential to tune their properties as per the application
cal current in electronic and optoelectronic devices. Effi- requirement. Kang et al. have reported a controllable non-
cient doping results in desirable properties of materials degenerate p-type doping process using octadecyltrichlorosi-
for specific applications without any structural damage. lane (OTS) in W ­ Se2-based transistor [75]. The OTS consists
Several types of doping techniques for 2D materials have of a methyl (-CH3) group, which decreases the electron con-
been introduced for developing smart devices, for instance, centration in the channel. Figure 3a displays the schematic of
ion implantation, electrostatic doping, chemical doping, a p-doped W ­ Se2 transistor with an energy band diagram of
molecular doping, and substitutional doping are some of undoped and doped transistors under negative drain biasing.
the most widely used doping techniques. However, ion The band diagram of doped W ­ Se2 moves upward resulting
implantation poses some serious challenges in 2D materi- in increasing the electric field and lowering the Schottky
als as the bombarding of doping elements could damage barrier. Therefore, the hole carrier injection at the Pt-WSe2
the structure of materials inducing undesirable properties. interface increases through tunnelling, as depicted in Fig. 3a.
The uses of electrostatic and molecular doping for smart The p-type doping could easily be controlled between
devices are not suitable due to electrical breakdown, com- 2.1 × ­1011 and 5.2 × ­1011 ­cm−2 facilitating optimization of
plexity of fabrication, and molecular instability. There- threshold voltage, carrier mobility, and on/off current of the
fore, chemical and substitutional doping emerge as the transistor. To assure p-type doping, ID–VG characteristics of
most effective techniques for elemental doping. Yoo et al. undoped and doped transistors were examined with vary-
have examined the effect of chemical doping in multilayer ing OTS concentrations from 0.024% to 1.2%, as shown in
­M oS 2 [72]. The doping of poly(diketopyrrolopyrrole- Fig. 3b. The threshold voltage increases by 8.65 V upon
terthiophene) (PDPP3T) improved the ­MoS2 transistor on 1.2% p-type doping as compared to the undoped transistor.
current by a factor of 4.6 with a current on/off ratio of 1­ 06.
 197 Page 8 of 42 Nano-Micro Lett. (2025) 17:197

Fig. 2  a Resistance variation of amorphous and crystalline phases of N ­ bTe4 with varying temperatures. b Resistance variation with applied
­ bTe4 based memory cell. Panels a and b are reproduced with permission [66]. Copy-
voltage indicating switching between set and reset state of N
right (2023), Wiley–VCH. c The transition of 2D blue phosphorene oxide from the semiconducting phase to the symmetry-protected semimetal
(SSM) phase upon applying moderate strain. Reproduced with permission [67]. Copyright (2016), American Chemical Society. d ­MoTe2 phase
transition between semiconducting (2H) and metallic (1T′) as a function of temperature and force. Reproduced with permission [68]. Copyright
(2015), American Chemical Society

Moreover, the on-current is also enhanced by a factor of 10, growth of 2D material. To examine the magnetic behavior
increasing the mobility of the transistor. of Ni-doped CoO, zero field cooling (ZFC) and field cooling
Elemental doping also proved to be an effective technique (FC) magnetization have been studied with varying tem-
for tuning the magnetic properties of 2D materials. Jiang peratures, as displayed in Fig. 3e. The ZFC and FC of doped
et al. have demonstrated the occurrence of a ferromagnetic samples showed ferromagnetic behavior with a transition at
nature in cobalt monoxide (CoO) upon nickel doping, while 174 K. Therefore, the magnetism in 2D materials could be
pristine CoO showed nonferromagnetic behavior [76]. The effectively controlled by tuning the elemental doping.
Ni-doped CoO was grown in the mica substrate by a van Therefore, the incorporation of suitable dopants in 2D
der Waals epitaxy technique, as shown in Fig. 3c. In the materials modulates the electrical conductivity, optical
Ni-doped structure, Co atoms were replaced by Ni atoms absorption, and mechanical strength of 2D materials. Ele-
without disturbing the original structure as both the atoms mental doping either increases the electrical conductivity or
possess similar atomic radiuses (Fig. 3d). The absence of hole concentration depending on the doping type, making
dangling bonds on the mica substrate facilitates the lateral 2D materials suitable for designing transistors, diodes, and

© The authors [Link]

Nano-Micro Lett. (2025) 17:197 Page 9 of 42 197

other nano-electronic devices. Doping also creates mid-gap The carrier mobility in 2D materials is significantly influ-
states or changes the excitonic behavior, hence influencing enced by the presence of grain boundaries. To address this
the photovoltaic performance of optical devices. Continuous issue, researchers have synthesized single-crystal material
refinement of doping techniques promises to achieve higher on c-plane sapphire substrates. Wang et al. have epitaxially
efficiency, scalability, and versatility, driving innovations in grown single-layer M ­ oS2 over the entire 4-inch sapphire
next-generation material technologies. wafer using an optimized chemical vapor deposition tech-
nique [80]. The monolayer M ­ oS2 exhibits excellent elec-
tronic properties with carrier mobility of ∼70 ­cm2 ­V−1 ­s−1
3.3 Substrate Engineering and a current on/off ratio of ∼109. Recently, to develop
energy-efficient wearable electronic devices, Tang et al.
Substrate engineering is one of the most commonly used have grown wafer-scale single-layer M ­ oS2 over the 4-inch
techniques for developing smart devices. The choice of flexible polyethylene terephthalate (PET) substrate (Fig. 4c)
the substrate significantly influences the 2D material [81]. The flexible device performance was comparable to
nucleation and its epitaxial growth. The uniformity of rigid ­MoS2-based transistors with average carrier mobility
the synthesized 2D materials is also largely dependent on and a current on–off ratio of ~ 70 ­cm2 ­V−1 ­s−1 and 5 × ­107,
the substrate. The inherent properties of substrate such respectively.
as thermal expansion coefficient, surface roughness, and The bandgap of 2D materials could also be tuned effort-
catalytic properties severely affect the quality of grown 2D lessly by growing them on different substrates due to strain
materials. The mobility, orientation, bandgap, and other engineering. Except graphene, most of the 2D semiconducting
electronic properties of the deposited materials could be materials possess bandgaps making them suitable for terahertz
controlled by choosing a suitable substrate. For instance, to ultraviolet range of applications. Jung et al. have demon-
2D hBN works as a perfect substrate facilitating single strated a bandgap of ~ 20 meV in graphene by placing it on a
crystalline growth of other 2D materials resulting in high- hexagonal boron nitride (hBN) substrate, as shown in Fig. 4d
performance devices possessing exceedingly high carrier [82]. The carbon atoms in graphene get relaxed when placed
mobilities due to its ultra-flat nature [77, 78]. at the hBN surface, resulting in the introduction of a bandgap.
The careful selection of substrate plays an instrumen- In addition to substrate engineering, surface energy engi-
tal role in the post-growth processes for developing smart neering also plays a crucial role in controlling the surface and
electronic devices. Momeni et al. have studied the impact interfacial properties of 2D materials. The surface traps, oxy-
of various substrates on ­WSe2 monolayer orientation, by gen vacancies, and nanostructures’ domain orientation at the
theoretical and experimental techniques [79]. The study surface or the interface could easily be modified for developing
was conducted on crystalline and amorphous A ­ l2O3 and surface-responsive electronic devices. Due to vast variety of
­S iO2 substrates. Figure 4a, b shows the binding energy applications, several strategies have been adopted for surface
(ε*) of single-layer ­WSe2 grown on various substrates. The energy modification, such as the ion beam process, self-assem-
minimum binding energy was achieved when the W ­ Se2 bly technique, and cross-linking of copolymer films [83]. A
orientation angle was 0° on crystalline ­A l2O3 and ­S iO2 surface energy modifier could also be used to improve the
substrates. However, the binding energy remained nearly stability and efficiency of perovskite solar cells. Su et al. have
constant at 0.052 ± 0.0065 and 0.051 ± 0.008 J ­m−2 in the used heptadecafluorooctanesulfonate tetraethylammonium
case of amorphous ­A l 2O 3 and ­S iO 2 substrates, respec- (HFSTA) to modify the surface of the ­TiO2 electron trans-
tively. The binding energies on amorphous substrates are port layer [84]. The HFSTA improved the carrier-extraction
lower as compared to their crystalline counterpart due to efficiency by lowering the surface energy. The modified T ­ iO2
a lack of well-defined structures. The low binding energy results in superior crystalline perovskite film with an efficiency
on a non-crystalline substrate facilitates polycrystalline of more than 25% due to less number of heterogeneous nuclea-
growth of 2D materials. Moreover, the grown 2D film tion sites.
could easily be separated from the amorphous substrates In summary, substrate engineering provides a versatile plat-
to form complex structures owing to the lower value of form for tuning the properties of 2D materials. The selection
binding energies. of substrate changes the electronic, optical, and mechanical
 197 Page 10 of 42 Nano-Micro Lett. (2025) 17:197

Fig. 3  a Schematic of octadecyltrichlorosilane (OTS) doped ­WSe2 transistor and energy band diagram of pristine and doped ­WSe2 at the metal–
semiconductor interface. b Current–voltage characteristics of pristine and OTS-doped W­ Se2 transistor. Panels a and b are reproduced with per-
mission [75]. Copyright (2015), American Chemical Society. c Schematic illustrating growth of CoO nanosheets via atmospheric pressure chem-
ical vapor deposition technique. d Hexagonal atomic representation of CoO nanosheet depicting Ni-doping along the [107] axis. e Magnetic
susceptibility of CoO and Ni-doped CoO at different temperatures under a magnetic field of 0.1T. Panels c-e are reproduced with permission
[76]. Copyright (2023), Wiley–VCH

properties of 2D materials by controlling the interfacial inter- 3.4 Defect Engineering

actions, strain, and surface roughness. The substrate-induced
strain changes the bandgap of the material while the charge Structural defects are imperfections that break the perio-
transfer between the substrate and grown 2D materials ena- dicity of regularly arranged atomically thin 2D materials.
bles the doping effects. High dielectric substrates can screen These defects have been intentionally engineered in 2D
Coulomb interactions in 2D materials facilitating high carrier materials to make them suitable for various applications
mobility and reducing charge trapping at the surface and inter- including biomedical, quantum technologies, and energy
face. While integration of 2D materials with flexible substrates storage devices. Effective defects could easily be created
finds applications in flexible and wearable electronics. Moreo- in 2D materials as most of their atoms are exposed for
ver, plasmonic substrates improve the light-matter interactions, engineering. For instance, introducing defects in gra-
enhancing Raman scattering and photoluminescence of optical phene opened a bandgap, making it suitable for switching
devices. applications. These defects severely impacted the elec-
tronic, optical, chemical, and mechanical properties of the

© The authors [Link]

Nano-Micro Lett. (2025) 17:197 Page 11 of 42 197

Fig. 4  Binding energy of 2D ­WSe2 film at different rotation angles grown over crystalline and amorphous. a ­Al2O3 and b ­SiO2 substrates.
Panels a and b are reproduced with permission [79]. Copyright (2024), American Chemical Society. c Flexible wafer-scale ­MoS2 thin-film tran-
sistors on polyethylene terephthalate (PET) substrate. Reproduced with permission [81]. Copyright (2023), Wiley–VCH. d Energy gap versus
lattice constant mismatch when graphene and boron nitride both are rigid, when both are relaxed and when only graphene is allowed to relax. In
the inset, electron–electron interactions are also taken into account. Reproduced with permission [82]. Copyright (2015), Springer Nature

materials. Some of these defects affect the device’s per- resulting in vacancies. While extrinsic defects occur due to
formance favorably, while others may affect it adversely. heteroatom doping or when an atom occupies an adjacent
Therefore, exploring the defect nature and their distri- interstitial site. Cai et al. [85] have induced sulfur vacancies
bution across 2D materials is essential for the transition in ­MoS2 through a two-step hydrothermal process. The sul-
toward smart devices. fur vacancies facilitate 1T phase incorporation into the 2H
Structural defects in 2D materials could be divided into phase of M ­ oS2 as illustrated by Fig. 5a. This transformation
three categories: (1) Point or 0D defects; (2) line of 1D introduces ferromagnetism in nonmagnetic ­MoS2 at room
defects; and (3) 2D or planer defects. Point defects include temperature.
intrinsic and extrinsic defects. The intrinsic defects are Line defects stem from different lattice orientations of
generated due to the absence of atoms at their original site various grains. Moreover, 2D materials grown by various
 197 Page 12 of 42 Nano-Micro Lett. (2025) 17:197

synthesizing techniques possess grain boundaries leading large gap in mobilities between theoretically predicted val-
to variation in band structure and electrical conductivity ues and experimentally calculated values. The interfacial
due to changes in chemical stoichiometry. However, line defects between the substrate and 2D material are one of the
defects are not fixed in 2D materials, impacting the mobil- prominent factors in controlling the mobility of the device.
ity of host materials. Wang et al. have shown the appearance The defects may occur due to the creation of a vacancy or
of metallic tracks in monolayer M ­ oS2 due to line defects substitution by another atom during the growth or annealing
[86]. The defect structures cause lattice compression and it process. Chen et al. [90] have shown a mobility enhancement
increases with an increase in the length of line defect. Hence, of 152% for monolayer M ­ oS2 based transistors through strain
the atomic distance between S and Mo atoms changes. Fig- engineering on a flat S­ iO2 substrate. Upon applying a strain
ure 5b shows the TEM image of line defects containing of 0.87%, the effective mass of the monolayer decreases
seven S vacancies. The DFT calculations showed that the drastically boosting the carrier mobility of 2D material.
distance between two Mo atoms compresses to 4.2 Å in the In summary, defect engineering offers a transformative
case of seven S vacancies from its original distance of 5.3 Å approach for introducing controlled imperfections in atomi-
in the case of pristine configuration. Similarly, the atomic cally thin 2D materials. The intrinsic limitations of 2D
distance between Mo and S atoms changes in case of line materials could be overcome by creating intentional defects
defects offering precise control of the semiconductor/ metal such as vacancies, dopants, edge states, grain boundaries, or
interface. interstitial atoms. The defects modified the electrical con-
Planer defects occur when a 3D structure is divided ductivity and bandgap of 2D materials through localized
into smaller domains of symmetric atomic arrangements. states in the bandgap. For chemical sensors, defects work
These defects exist at the boundary between neighboring as active sites, increasing the device sensitivity for particu-
domains. The planer defects in 2D materials primarily con- lar analytes. For instance, sulfur vacancies in ­MoS2 make it
sist of stacking faults. Artaud et al. have studied the nature suitable for ­NO2 detection at room temperature. Advances in
of vacant hills in graphene [87]. This defect periodically defect-introducing and characterization techniques promise
appears on epitaxially grown graphene on a metallic sub- to enhance the scalability, reproducibility, and performance
strate with a moiré pattern, as shown in Fig. 5c. High-quality of defect-engineered 2D materials, driving innovations in
pristine graphene requires the removal of these vacant hill nanoelectronics.
defects to improve its inherent characteristics such as mobil-
ity. However, engineering these defects might discover novel
optical and spin properties in graphene. 3.5 Forming Mixed Dimensional Heterostructures
Defect engineering could be done through several tech-
niques including ion irradiation, chemical and thermal treat- In 2D layered materials, different layered are held together
ment, and strain engineering. However, in recent years, ion by strong in-plane interaction and weak out-of-plane bond-
irradiation has been proven to be one of the most useful ing, allowing isolation of individual layers and mixing them
defect engineering techniques for controlling the properties with other materials forming heterostructures [91]. The very
of atomically thin 2D materials [88]. The ion irradiation visionary American physicist Richard Feynman in his very
changes the surface morphology and reduces the vdW inter- famous talk "There’s Plenty of Room at the Bottom” in 1959
layer spacing and hence changes the inherent characteristics asked, “What could we do with layered structures with just
of 2D materials. Ion irradiation offers a very precise control the right layers?” After relentless efforts over several dec-
over the defects with repeatable results. The defect charac- ades, we are able to answer that question. Nowadays we are
teristics could strongly be influenced by the ion species, ion experiencing the Feynman vision, and by forming hetero-
energy, incident fluence, exposure time, and incident angle structures, we are exploring those properties of materials
[89]. Therefore, by controlling these factors novel proper- that have never been seen in an isolated material. Recently,
ties of 2D materials could be explored for developing smart the vdW heterostructures obtained by stacking different 2D
electronic devices. layered materials, have drawn huge attention due to their
To achieve higher carrier mobility remains a challenge unique properties. These heterostructures are the basis of
in 2D materials due to their lattice properties. There is a today’s digital electronics and smart devices possessing

© The authors [Link]

Nano-Micro Lett. (2025) 17:197 Page 13 of 42 197

Fig. 5  a Schematic illustration of occurrence of ferromagnetism in nonmagnetic M ­ oS2 nanosheets via phase incorporation. Reproduced with
permission [85]. Copyright (2015), American Chemical Society. b TEM image displaying one line of single S vacancies consisting of 7 S vacan-
cies. Reproduced with permission [86]. Copyright (2016), American Chemical Society. c Three-dimensional view of vacant hill model represen-
tation of deposited graphene on Ru substrate with a stacking fault. Reproduced with permission [87]. Copyright (2020), IOP Publishing Ltd

enormous computational power packed into a smaller space. overlapping of atoms’ electronic wave functions splits the
Various characteristics such as bandgap, electron mobility, quantized energy into discrete levels as per the Pauli exclu-
and charge carrier concentration of these heterostructures sion principle.
can easily be engineered according to a specific application Among different combinations of mixed dimensional
enabling highly efficient devices. These heterostructures heterojunctions, 2D/2D and 2D/3D are more popular due
have already shown their potential for fabricating stretch- to their versatile nature. The 2D/2D heterojunction offers
able and flexible foldable displays, memory devices, chemi- precise control over the generation and transportation of
cal sensors, photodetectors, supercapacitors, and lithium-ion charge carriers at the interface. While 2D/3D heterostruc-
batteries. tures have opened new possibilities through the integration
A significant advancement in device functionality is of well-known conventional materials with emerging novel
observed by integrating 2D materials with other dimen- 2D materials. A high on/off ratio is required for developing
sional materials due to their dangling-bond-free surface high-performance logic devices. The 2D/3D vdW hetero-
[92]. In vdW heterojunctions, any 2D layered materials junction showed a highly tuneable on/off ratio by moving
could be combined with a plethora of other dimensional the Fermi level in ­MoS2. The 2D/3D heterojunction between
materials presenting a broad class heterojunction. Hence, ­MoS2 and p-Si is shown in Fig. 6a [93]. The rectification
several kinds of new devices with exciting physics emerge ratio of the ­MoS2/Si heterojunction could be tuned by 7
by combining different dimensional materials. Such hybrids orders of magnitude ranging from 0.1 to ­106. The output
discovered exceptional electronic and optoelectronic proper- characteristics of the p–n junction diode under varying gate
ties of the constituent materials. The 2D materials exhibit voltage depict strongly modulated reverse current (Fig. 6b).
different wave functions as compared to their conventional The on/off and rectification ratios with respect to changes
3D counterparts owing to quantum confinement effects. The in drain and gate voltages are displayed in Fig. 6c. The high
 197 Page 14 of 42 Nano-Micro Lett. (2025) 17:197

performance was achieved due to the asymmetric nature of heterostructures, interlayer interactions, stability, and layer
the ­p++Si/MoS2 heterojunction. alignment depend on enthalpic contributions. Thermal man-
In recent years, mixed-dimensional heterostructures have agement in smart devices also depends on enthalpy. Heat
opened new paradigms in the field of flexible and wearable dissipation in compact devices is deeply tied to enthalpic
electronics, particularly for healthcare applications. The 2D interactions and enthalpy changes. In supercapacitors and
materials offer durability and flexibility while maintain- batteries, the charge storage capacity strongly depends on
ing the high strength of the devices. In a very recent study, enthalpy changes during ion adsorption and desorption pro-
Varghese et al. demonstrated strain-controlled ­MoS2 heter- cesses. Therefore, smart devices with superior functionality
ostructure-based field-effect transistors using the piezoelec- and reliability could be designed by optimizing enthalpy-
tric effect [94]. The nature of transferred strain to 2D film related processes.
changes from compressive to tensile by changing the biasing Therefore, the synergistic effects of mixed-dimensional
polarity. The device architecture consists of metal–piezo- heterostructures offer a ground-breaking approach to
electric–metal configuration on ­SiO2 substrate as displayed enhancing the functionalities of 2D materials-based smart
in Fig. 6d. A 2.4 nm M ­ oS2 flake was exfoliated on top of devices. The selection of constituent materials in hetero-
the ­Al2O3 layer over the top electrode. The strain was trans- structures to meet the specific application depends on com-
ferred from a piezoelectric thin layer to 2D ­MoS2 as shown putational modeling and theoretical predictions. The unat-
in Fig. 6e, using the converse piezoelectric effect. As the tainable properties in individual materials could be obtained
potential difference between the top and bottom electrodes by combining 2D materials with 0D, 1D, or 3D components.
increases from 0 to ± 150 kV ­cm−1, the drain current could By integrating 2D materials with other suitable materials,
be modulated nearly 130 times, as depicted in Fig. 6f. carrier dynamics and band alignment at the heterointerfaces
Gibbs and Helmholtz’s free energy of 2D materials indi- could precisely be tuned for particular applications such as
cates their thermodynamic stability and their integration tunnelling FETs and photodetectors. In addition, the hetero-
with other dimensional materials [95]. For instance, the structures improve the light-matter interactions and broaden
CVD and PVD growth of materials requires minimizing free the spectral response, enabling the development of highly
energy in the system. In mixed-dimensional heterostructures, efficient optical devices.
free energy also controls the interactions and the adhesion
between 2D materials and other dimensional materials. The 4 Selection of 2D Materials for Smart Devices
uniform stacking of different layers of 2D materials through
vdW interaction without any chemical bond is also governed Since the discovery of graphene (the first 2D material) at
by free energy. The reduction of interfacial free energy The University of Manchester in 2004, a plethora of mate-
facilitates efficient charge transfer in FETs, photodetectors, rials has been added to the family of 2D materials [53].
and quantum devices. The Gibbs free energy establishes the Although they share similar types of structures, incredibly
charge storage and electrochemical interactions in super- diverse properties of the 2D materials help to include metals,
capacitors. Similarly, the Helmholtz free energy controls semimetals, semiconductors, and insulators in their family.
the conversion efficiency in energy harvesting devices. In The numerous 2D materials are classified with their diverse
chemical sensing and environmental monitoring applications properties, as shown in Fig. 7 [97]. The selection of the
requiring functionalizing of 2D materials, the systems are 2D material for device manufacturing is crucial and that
designed to minimize free energy for improved selectivity depends on the specific material properties required for a
and sensitivity for target analytes. particular application. For example, although graphene as
Enthalpy indicates the total energy in a system impact- a first 2D material has remarkable electrical, optical and
ing the engineering technique for developing 2D materi- mechanical properties, it is not suitable as channel of digi-
als-based smart devices. Enthalpy controls the stability tal transistor device owing to its zero-band gap. However,
of 2D materials influencing their integration to form het- some research efforts have been made to open band gap in
erostructures [96]. For example, the CVD growth of 2D the graphene through designing new structure including
material involves exothermic reactions where enthalpy nanoribbon, nanowire, nanotube, and bilayer graphene.
changes ensure the synthesis of defect-free layers. In vdW The graphene nanostructures are still facing challenge to

© The authors [Link]

Nano-Micro Lett. (2025) 17:197 Page 15 of 42 197

Fig. 6  a Schematic of ­MoS2/Si vdW heterostructure. b Current–voltage characteristics of the heterojunction device upon varying gate voltage.
c 2D/3D heterojunction diode on/off and rectification ratio as a function of drain and gate voltages, respectively. Panels a-c are reproduced with
permission [93]. Copyright (2020), American Chemical Society. d ­MoS2 FET-based device architecture consisting of metal –piezoelectric –metal
configuration. ­VT and V­ B at Pt electrodes indicate the voltage applied to the top and bottom electrodes, respectively. e Schematic representing
shifting of strain from piezoelectric layer to 2D M­ oS2 via the converse piezoelectric effect. f Output characteristics of FET depicting improve-
ment in drain current upon increasing the voltage difference between top and bottom electrodes. Panels d-f are reproduced with permission [94].
Copyright (2024), American Chemical Society

achieve ideal performance of the transistor due to decreased new physics and unique functionality for developing smart
carrier mobility and subthreshold swing. Moreover, large devices [98–100]. However, selection of the 2D materials
specific surface area, chemical stability, high thermal con- is very crucial in the synthesis of the vdW heterostructures.
ductivity, huge strength and excellent optical properties of Thermal and chemical stability of the materials, and kinetics
the graphene makes it promising candidate for water purifi- and thermodynamic growth process are some of the consid-
cation, sensing, hydrogen production, antimetastatic agent erable parameters for the synthesis of vdW heterostructures
­ i3C2 in
and optical applications. In addition, discovery of T using the semiconductor industry compatible CVD process.
2011 has introduced dozens of 2D transition metal carbides, The graphene or hBN cannot be grown over the 2D TMDs
and nitrides (known as MXenes) materials. Metallic lay- because of its higher temperature growth. Moreover, growth
ered structures, high mobility, rich surface chemistry, and of the 2D ­MoS2 is possible over the 2D ­WSe2 surface with-
hydrophilicity properties of the MXenes are suitable for out exchange of the S/Se atoms. However, 2D W ­ Se2 could
energy storage device applications. On the other hand, the not be grown on the 2D M ­ oS2 film without exchange of the
surface of the 2D materials without dangling bonds sup- S/Se atoms because sulfur vacancies would be created, and
ports synthesizing vdW heterostructures without lattice subsequently occupied with Se during the high temperature
mismatching. These distinctive vdW heterostructures offer growth of the ­WSe2.
 197 Page 16 of 42 Nano-Micro Lett. (2025) 17:197

In the context of manufacturing, synthesis of the 2D mate- materials have been utilized as a transistor channel material.
rials at the industry level is compatible with conventional Si These materials also fulfill the current demand for advanced
planar technology because these materials have large (mac- technology nodes by fabricating FET devices of sub-10 nm
roscopic) lateral dimensions despite having only nanoscopic channel length. For example, 2D ­MoS2 as a channel material
thickness (vertical dimension) [101]. Moreover, the easy trans- is used to fabricate an FET device of 1 nm channel length [20].
fer of the processed 2D materials from one platform to another On the other hand, a high-k dielectric gate material is also
makes them suitable to integrate with the present technologies, required to give sufficient electrostatic control with minimal
especially, at BEOL in the CMOS technology process [102]. gate leakage current. Moreover, it should preserve the intrinsic
We believe that 2D materials represent strong material systems properties of the channel 2D material. 2D hexagonal boron
for developing smart computational as well as non-computa- nitride (h-BN) as an insulating material is widely used as a
tional electronic devices. In the context of computational, the gate oxide material for developing high-performance 2D mate-
field effect transistor (FET) is a fundamental electronic device. rial-based devices. However, its good electrostatic controlling
The operation of the FET in digital as a digital switch (on behavior is limited to its single or double layers, and beyond
and off) inspires the selection of semiconductor 2D materials these layers, a high gate leakage current is observed. The 2D
so that the conductivity of the material can be easily modu- channel materials have large contact resistance and the high
lated by the external applied voltage. From this view, layered contact resistance limits the benefits of channel materials. The
TMDs materials with the general formula ­MX2, where M and dominance of contact resistance over the channel conductiv-
X are transition metal and chalcogen elements, respectively, ity severely affects the performance of the device. So, low
are more explored, and semiconducting TMDs such as ­MoS2, Ohmic contact resistance schemes are essential for improv-
­WS2, and W ­ Se2 have shown huge potential in the field of the ing the performance of the device in an IC chip. Overall, an
computational device [103]. The 2D TMDs semiconductor innovative approach to contact and interface engineering, and

Fig. 7  Classification of the 2D materials depending on their diverse properties. Reproduced with permission [97]. Copyright (2022), American
Chemical Society

© The authors [Link]

Nano-Micro Lett. (2025) 17:197 Page 17 of 42 197

suitable dielectric materials are urgent needs for the 2D mate- of 10 nm [116]. The transistor of 1 nm channel length was
rials integration in computing devices [104]. Besides the use also fabricated using the 2D ­MoS2 as a channel and a carbon
of the 2D materials in computational systems, these are also nanotube as the gate electrode [20]. Furthermore, a FET
employed in various non-computing devices including gas or transistor fabricated with 2D black phosphorus showed a
chemical sensors, biosensors, photodetectors, image sensors, higher ‘on’ current of 1 mA μm−1 because of its low band-
superconductors, radio-frequency devices, magnetic devices, gap and high carrier mobility [117]. Many efforts have been
thermoelectric and piezoelectric devices [105–112]. These made to integrate 2D materials in FET to design n-channel,
vast applications of 2D materials are because of their remark- p-channel, and ambipolar transport by exploiting different
able diverse properties. Inherent high surface-to-volume and semiconductors, contact, and doping. Despite the advance-
versatile functionality of the 2D materials are suited for gas/ ment in 2D FET, the non-ohmic behavior of contacts is still a
chemical sensor and biosensor applications [113]. challenge for the 2D channel material. Recently, an ultralow
contact resistance of 42 Ω μm was achieved using semimetal
antimony (Sb) contact for the monolayer ­MoS2 [118]. The
5 Device Architectures
properties of the 2D materials are highly dependent on the
quality of surface and interface because of their atom level
5.1 Field‑Effect Transistors
thickness. Therefore, suitable dielectric 2D materials, con-
tact, and interface engineering help to improve the perfor-
Field effect transistor (FET) is the most important electronic
mance of the 2D materials-based transistor devices (Fig. 8b)
device in the electronic industry, and it is a basic building
[104]. In addition, many unconventional performance-
block of modern ICs. The scaling of the transistor’s size
enhancing technologies such as negative capacitance, float-
has become a continuous process to follow Moore’s law for
ing-gate transistors, tunneling transistors, and ferroelectric
improving the performance, miniaturization, and cost of the
transistors have been exploited with the 2D channel material
ICs. The evolution of transistors, scaling, and post-Moore
[119]. Beyond the charge-based transport in complementary
electronics are shown in Fig. 8a [104]. The further scal-
metal–oxide–semiconductor (CMOS) technology, 2D mate-
ing depends on the emerging 2D materials, unconventional
rials are also utilized in spin transistors and excitonic transis-
devices, and innovative architectures. Nonetheless, the scal-
tors. These innovative approaches would provide thrust to
ing rate has slowed in the last few years because of achieving
applying 2D materials in post-Moore ICs.
the threshold limit of the thickness of the conventional 3D Si
For the planar FinFET structure, further reducing the
material. The thickness of the semiconductor and dielectric
modern industry node below 5 nm degrade performance
play a crucial role in defining the characteristic length of the
severely and also creates issues in the fabrication process
conventional nonplanar fin field-effect transistor (FinFET)
because of the limitation of fin width and fin pitch of the
structure. The characteristic length is defined as (λ ≈ tchannel
modern FinFET structure. So, semiconductor industries
+ (εchannel/εoxide)toxide) [114]. It suggests that the thickness of
are now shifting from the trigate FinFET structure to gate-
channel material and dielectric should be less. The reduction
all-around field-effect transistors (GAAFETs) for achiev-
of the thickness of 3D Si below 5 nm severely deteriorates
ing high electrostatics control by the increased gate, and
the mobility at the interface of Si and dielectric through
that will lead to a paradigm shift in transistor technology
surface scattering [115]. The high degradation in mobility
[121, 122]. On the other hand, recently, Yu et al. reported a
limits the further scaling of the transistor. Conversely, atomi-
multi-fin FET structure using the 2D ­Bi2O2Se fin arrays with
cally thick 2D semiconductor materials (thickness < 1 nm)
high-k native-oxide ­Bi2SeO5, as shown in Fig. 8c [120]. The
manifest huge potential to further scaling beyond the limit
multi-fin FET device exhibited an excellent on/off current
of 3D Si material. The mobility (~ 100 c­ m2 ­V−1 ­s−1) of the
ratio (˃ ­106) with high durability. The multi-fin FET pro-
2D ­MoS2 (thickness ~ 0.65 nm) is much higher than the
vides higher drive current, transconductance, lower noise,
sub-5 nm thickness of the 3D Si. The 2D ­MoS2 also exhib-
ited high ‘on’ currents of > 400 μA μm−1 and a good sub- and higher integration density than the single-fin FET in the
threshold slope of 80 mV ­decade−1 with a channel length 2D electronics logic devices.
 197 Page 18 of 42 Nano-Micro Lett. (2025) 17:197

5.2 Complementary Metal–Oxide–Semiconductor condition at the same time, which reduces the static power
of the logic device. For example, an applied low input volt-
A complimentary metal–oxide–semiconductor (CMOS) age turns on the PMOS and off the NMOS resulting in a
logic device is used in the development of state-of-the-art high output voltage (~ Vdd). In contrast, an applied high input
digital integrated circuits (ICs) chips or microprocessors voltage turns on the NMOS and turns off the PMOS result-
which is the backbone of modern computing and system ing in low voltage (~ 0). Despite the individual transistor
design. The CMOS is made of two connecting complemen- logic device, the CMOS logic device exhibits low power
tary FETs: a PMOS and an NMOS in series. In the opera- consumption through reducing static power consumption
tion of the CMOS, one transistor is off, and another is on and high noise tolerance. A 2D CMOS inverter device was

Fig. 8  a Scaling of CMOS transistors and further scaling, post-Moore electronics, would be based on 2D materials and unconventional devices.
b Three approaches including contact electrode, channel interface, and dielectric layer are essential to optimize the performance of 2D materials-
based transistors. Panels a and b are reproduced with permission [104]. Copyright (2024), American Chemical Society. c Schematic illustration
of the 2D multi-fin FET structure. Reproduced with permission [120]. Copyright (2024), Springer Nature

© The authors [Link]

Nano-Micro Lett. (2025) 17:197 Page 19 of 42 197

fabricated by connecting two separate p-type 2D ­WSe2 and 0 for applied supply voltage VDD = 2 V, and corresponding
n-type 2D ­MoS2 devices in series using the direct imprint Vin and Vout voltages to all four logics are shown in Fig. 9d.
method, as shown in Fig. 9a [123]. The 2D hetero-CMOS Although lots of advancements have been demonstrated in
inverter device exhibits good performance: maximum volt- the CMOS logic devices using the 2D materials, several
age gains of ∼27, dynamic switching of ∼800 μs, noise mar- issues including doping, scalability and uniformity in large
gin of 0.5VDD (supply voltage, VDD = 5 V) with a transition area 2D materials growth are still creating hurdles to imple-
voltage of 2.3 V, and very low power consumption in the mentation of the 2D materials in the logic circuits design for
range of sub-nano watt. Good gate patterning and isolation commercial applications.
between p- and n-type wells are supported to reduce overlap On the other hand, integration of the 2D transistor with
capacitance values. Moreover, thinner flakes and encapsula- the conventional 3D Si-CMOS technology is also a hot
tion of the device helped to address input –output signal mis- research interest worldwide rather than completely replac-
match (caused by negative transition voltage in the CMOS ing the Si from the 2D materials [101]. The integration of
inverter). On the other hand, the leading microelectronics the 2D materials with the Si chip forms a three-dimensional
industries would still be using the conventional Si-CMOS monolithic construction that provides a heterogeneous plat-
technology by the vertical stacking of the p- and n-type FET form for improving the performance as well as functional-
devices as represented to 3D monolithic CMOS integration, ity of the Si chip [102]. The incorporation of 2D materials
despite conventional two planar transistors connected in into monolithically integrated Si-chips helps to improve
series. There is no doubt that the multibridge complemen- packaging through increasing devices per unit area and
tary field-effect transistors (MBCFET), and complementary integration density, and that leads to the “More Moore”
field-effect transistors (CFETs) architectures with vertical technology through facilitating scaling and maximum
stacking of n-type and p-type FETs lead to scaling by reduc- area utilization [126]. For example, exploitation of doped-
ing the layout area. However, further scaling the CFETs for graphene-nanoribbon in interconnect has been reduced by
future node technology, and replacing Si would be essential more than 50% interconnect thickness with lower parasitic,
from the atomically thick material with high mobility and power consumption, and interconnect delays [127]. On the
low leakage current. The atomically thick 2D semiconduc- other hand, “More than Moore” technologies are also sup-
tor TMDs materials have huge potential to be an integral ported by improving the multifunctionality of the Si-chip
part of the CFET. Liu et al. fabricated CFETs with vertical after integrating non-computation devices including sen-
stacking of n-type and p-type FETs using the monolayer of sor, and memory in different tiers of the third dimension.
­MoS2 and ­WSe2, respectively [124]. The CFET device is In addition, Goossens et al. developed a broadband image
shown in Fig. 9b. The CFET with channel materials thick- sensor after transferring graphene onto a Si-CMOS chip as
ness < 1 nm showed good performance and that provided a monolithic 3D heterogeneous integration of 2D materials
technological base for new transistor technology. In addition with silicon [128]. The deposition of PbS colloidal quan-
to binary logic CMOS devices, multivalued logic CMOS tum dots (as the light absorption layer) onto the patterned
devices based on 2D materials are getting more attention graphene pixels supported to achieve high gain and pho-
because these devices reduce the power consumption and toresponsivity through exploiting photogating effect and
integration complexity of the ICs. Moreover, the use of the fast charge transfer from the quantum dots to the graphene.
multivalued logic CMOS in the IC chip would improve heat The 2D graphene integration with 3D Si-chip improved the
dissipation by reducing the number of interconnected lines responsivity and broadband range of 300–2,000 nm owing to
and devices. In this context, Son et al. reported a multivalued remarkable optical and electrical properties of the graphene.
ternary logic device using p-type W ­ Se2, n-type M ­ oS2, and Moreover, optical properties of the optical devices could be
ambipolar ­MoTe2 transistors connected in series [125]. They tunned electrically with integration of graphene with devices
further partially functionalized the ambipolar ­MoTe2 with through remarkable graphene Dirac fermion tuning. In this
a cross-linked poly (methyl methacrylate) (PMMA) layer regard, Yao et al. integrated graphene with optical devices
to develop quaternary inverter through specially controlled and develop electrically controlled tunable frequency combs
n-type doping of the ­MoTe2, as shown in Fig. 9c. The logic in graphene–nitride microresonators and laser frequency
device showed four stable logic states as 1, 2/3, 1/3, and combs in graphene-fiber microresonators [129, 130].We
 197 Page 20 of 42 Nano-Micro Lett. (2025) 17:197

Fig. 9  a Circuit diagram and device structure of CMOS inverter consisting of connected n-FET of ­MoS2 and p-FET of ­WSe2 in series. Repro-
duced with permission [123]. Copyright (2015), American Chemical Society. b Device structure of the complementary field-effect transistors
(CFET) with top p-type ­WSe2 FET and bottom n-type ­MoS2. Reproduced with permission [124]. Copyright (2022), Wiley–VCH. c Circuit
diagram and quaternary inverter device consisting of a ­WSe2/MoTe2 heterotransistor in series with a PMMA –MoTe2/MoS2 heterotransistor. d
Four distinct logic states: “1”, “2/3”, “1/3”, and “0” of the quaternary inverter. Panels c and d are reproduced with permission [125]. Copyright
(2021), American Chemical Society

believe that 2D materials can be one of the most suitable devices including smartphones. In conventional computa-
materials for the construction of the 3D monolithic IC with tional architecture, data is transferred from off-chip memory
advanced functionality. However, some feasible fabrication storage to an on-chip computation unit and that results in
processes and semiconductor infrastructure are still required high latency and high energy consumption. So, scientific and
for the direct growth of the 2D materials on the Si chip from technical innovations in solid-state memories are required to
the industry perspective. provide efficient computation and data storage on the same
chip. From this view, many research efforts have been made
to innovate memory devices to fulfill current and future
5.3 Memory demands of the microelectronics industry. In the context
of nonvolatile memory, several innovative technologies
In the era of the Internet of Things, AI and big data, mem- including resistive random-access memory (RRAM), mag-
ory is a leading electronic device to process and store data. netoresistive random-access memory (MRAM), and phase-
Nowadays, flash memory is mostly used in smart consumer change memory (PCM) have been progressively developed

© The authors [Link]

Nano-Micro Lett. (2025) 17:197 Page 21 of 42 197

[131]. The 2D materials and their vdW heterostructures changing the polarity of the Pt electrode. Besides the devel-
have shown huge potential to develop these memories for opment of ultrafast and ultra-thin single memory devices,
making useful because of their excellent electronic prop- 2D materials are also used to fabricate transistor selectors
erties and low thermal budget [131]. The 2D graphene is in memory arrays. That helps to reduce leakage current. The
utilized as a planar electrode in the development of scal- sneak current in the RRAM array is responsible for increas-
able vertical RRAM. The integration of 3 Å thin graphene ing crosstalk and static power consumption. From this view,
into RRAM reduces the vertical height and cost of the 3D Sivan et al. proposed 1 transistor 1 resistive memory (1T1R)
vertical stacked memory structure. In regards to ferroelec- cell using the 2D ­WSe2, as shown in Fig. 10b [134]. The 2D
tric memory, several 2D materials such as graphene, TMDs ­WSe2 thin film transistor (TFT) did successfully resistive
and Black phosphorous have been exploited into FeFET switching in the ­WSe2 RRAM (Fig. 10c).
and these materials help to prevent the migration of atoms
from ferroelectric material into the transistor channel. That 5.4 Tiered Framework
leads to interface stability for storing binary states through
the direction of spontaneous electric polarization. Despite Tiered Framework, combining multiple materials or struc-
the joule heating in the PCM, the PCM shows good endur- tures, addresses challenges like restacking in 2D nanosheets
ance and a feasible lifetime of ˃109 cycles. To further reduce while leveraging synergistic effects among components. This
the power consumption, graphene as a thermal barrier was approach increases specific surface area and enhances elec-
employed in between the phase change materials. The gra- trode–electrolyte wettability, promoting redox reactions and
phene reduced the 40% RESET current of the PCM because ion transport for high-performance micro-supercapacitors.
low out-of-plane thermal conductivity of the graphene helps Improved functional performance was achieved via a
to confine the generated heat inside the device. Besides the hybrid composite formed by mixing M ­ oO3 nanobelts and
good performance of in conventional memory systems, Ni(OH)2 nanosheets, as described by Zhu et al. [135] in their
2D materials have also shown its potential in the novel a solution-processed 2D-2D hierarchical design. To improve
metal–insulator–metal (MIM) memory structure. Ge et al. mass transport and surface interactions, 2D nanosheets
reported first-time nonvolatile resistance switching in sin- possess substantial surface area have been coupled with a
gle layer of the TMDs (­ MoS2, ­MoSe2, ­WS2, ­WSe2) materi- thin 2D nanobelt core. The highly anisotropic orthorhom-
als [132]. Atomically thin TMDs have sharp interfaces and bic α-MoO3 was fabricated using hydrothermal and solvo-
clean tunnel barriers, which support to prevention of exces- thermal methods, confirmed by XRD and TEM analyses
sive leakage stored charges in the floating gate. They offer (Fig. 11a, b). The crystalline structure of Ni(OH)2 was veri-
low programming voltage, good stability, and high integra- fied by the enhanced XRD peaks corresponding to (110) and
tion density. Zheng et al. reported a phase change RRAM (300) planes (Fig. 11b insets). The resulting 3D hierarchical
using the 2D TMDs (vertical 2H-MoTe2- and M ­ o1−xWxTe2) architecture provides short ion diffusion pathways, deliver-
[59]. An electric field was exploited to change the phase of ing bifunctional electrochromism and supercapacitive prop-
the ­MoTe2- and ­Mo1−xWxTe2. The devices exhibited good erties. This system is well-suited for use in smart buildings,
resistive switching by changing states between high and low cars, and electronics because to its high specific capacitance,
resistive within 10 ns. Moreover, different defects including pseudocapacitive storage, coloring efficiency, and electro-
grain boundary, edge, and vacancy defects of the 2D TMDs chromic optical modulation. Building upon the concept of
materials also exploited for nonvolatile resistive switch- hierarchical structures, researchers have explored the inte-
ing. Tang et al. reported that interflake diffusion of sulfur gration of 2D materials to further enhance performance.
vacancy through the edges of the 2D ­MoS2 supports forms Supercapacitors made of 2D TMDs have a lot of potential
a conductive filament in the device, as shown in Fig. 10a because of their layered architectures and significant surface
[133]. The percolation of the sulfur vacancies would depend areas. However, some drawbacks such as high capacitance
on the size of the flakes. The electrons would reach Ti from loss and limited cycle stability remain present due to random
the Pt electrode through the formed sulfur vacancy fila- assembly of materials. Figure 11c shows the highly efficient
ment in the ­MoS2 and that results in a low resistance state. core/shell nanowire supercapacitors developed by Choud-
The device would be reset after rupturing the filaments by hary et al. [136] that incorporate one-dimensional (1D)
 197 Page 22 of 42 Nano-Micro Lett. (2025) 17:197

h-WO3 nanowires with conformal 2D WS₂ layers. Durable structures that integrate 2D-WS2 heteronanosheets. Due
and atomically sharp core/shell contacts are guaranteed by of distinct lattice vibration modes, compositionally similar
this "one-body" arrangement, which is accomplished by 2D-WS2 structures function very differently from this. They
successively oxidizing and sulfurizing identical metal cur- do not have the same quick and high capacitance. These
rent collectors. The h-WO₃ core (Fig. 11d) comprises W–O₆ 3D hybrid structures have better capacitive performance
octahedra arranged along the [001] zone axis, forming open because protons move quickly into the in-plane W-S lattice
hexagonal channels (~ 5.36 Å diagonal) confirmed by ADF- framework, surface-exposed intralayers go through revers-
STEM imaging. These hybrid structures synergize the ben- ible redox alterations within the electrochemically engaged
efits of 1D and 2D components, offering high surface area, 1T phase, and the oxidation state changes when protons
mechanical robustness, and distinct functionalities, result- enter and leave the structure. This is shown by the ­E2g bands
ing in exceptional capacitive performance and over 30,000 becoming softer and the W-W bond attributes alterations.
charge–discharge cycles with minimal degradation. Another In consequence, hierarchical structuration of low-
significant advancement in 2D material-based energy storage dimensional materials, from 2D-2D architectures to 3D
devices involves the understanding of surface redox charge hierarchical heterostructures, has demonstrated significant
storage mechanisms in hierarchical heterostructures. In addi- advancements in energy storage technologies. The integra-
tion, Mahmood et al. [137] used Raman spectroscopy and tion of materials addresses challenges such as restacking,
in situ synchrotron X-ray absorption to study the distinct poor interface integrity, and limited cyclic stability, while
surface redox charge preservation process in 3D hierarchical enhancing surface area, ion transport, and redox activity.
hybrid structures made of ­WS2 layer. The combination of These innovative designs not only achieve exceptional
3D connectivity with heteronanosheets results in extremely capacitive performance and long-term stability but also pro-
reversible and rapid capacitive performance in these 3D vide valuable insights into surface-dominant charge storage

Fig. 10  a Resistive sensing mechanism of the 2D ­MoS2 based on the sulfur vacancy: set and reset process and corresponding energy band dia-
gram of the device. Reproduced with permission [133]. Copyright (2022), Springer Nature. b Device structure of the 1 transistor and 1 memory
cell using the 2D ­WSe2. c I-V switching diagram of the 1T1R device configuration. Panels c and d are reproduced with permission [134]. Copy-
right (2019), Springer Nature

© The authors [Link]

Nano-Micro Lett. (2025) 17:197 Page 23 of 42 197

mechanisms. Collectively, these approaches highlight the sensing, and healthcare. Conventional flexible electronic
immense potential of engineered multidimensional materials devices are widely fabricated using organic semiconduc-
for next-generation energy storage applications. tors, amorphous and polycrystalline forms of silicon, and
metal oxide materials. In the past few years, 2D materials
have been more studied in flexible and wearable electron-
6 Applications of the Smart Devices ics owing to their excellent electrical and mechanical prop-
erties [138–140]. Their ultimate thickness controllability,
6.1 Flexible and Wearable Electronics integration flexibility, and compatibility with conventional
CMOS technology make them promising materials for
Nowadays, the development of flexible and wearable elec- developing smart electronic devices on flexible substrates
tronic devices is an emerging research area, and these [7]. Graphene with inherent zero band gap is limited to
devices play an integral role in different applications, such employ in logic devices as a channel, but it has been more
as information technology, energy generation and storage, explored as an electrode in optoelectronic devices, sensors,

Fig. 11  a Schematic illustration of hierarchical 2D-2D M­ oO3/Ni(OH)2 manufacturing process. b XRD spectra displaying the M ­ oO3/Ni(OH)2
combination and M ­ oO3 nanobelt diffraction patterns. Upper and lower insets show the crystalline forms of α-MoO3 and α-Ni(OH)2, respectively.
Panels a and b are reproduced with permission [135]. Copyright (2017), Royal Society of Chemistry. c A schematic representation of a one-
body arrangement of core/shell nanowires with 2D-WS2 and W ­ O3 layers. d Illustrations of crystalline structures showing the h-WO3 nanowire’s
architecture along with accompanying ADF-STEM pictures. Within the (001) basal plane, the cross-sectional view shows the nanowire’s robust
framework. Panels c and d are reproduced with permission [136]. Copyright (2016), American Chemical Society
 197 Page 24 of 42 Nano-Micro Lett. (2025) 17:197

and non-transistor applications. Moreover, it is explored for process for graphene growth, Fig. 12d) have been used for
developing different RF circuits because of its high mobility large area growth of the 2D materials [141]. Typically,
and saturation velocity with an inherent ambipolar nature. the 2D materials are first grown on the rigid substrates
Other 2D materials such as semiconducting TMDs and phos- and then transferred on the soft substrates by using dif-
phorene are suitable for logic devices owing to their tun- ferent extra transfer methods. These post-growth trans-
able band gap [138]. Tang et al. fabricated a low-power and fer techniques degrade film quality by adding wrinkles,
high-performance flexible IC using the 2D ­MoS2 and that defects, and a residue of the polymer during the transfer
includes essential building blocks of ICs such as inverters, process. To address this issue, some significant research
NAND, NOR, AND gates, and ring oscillators, as shown in efforts have been made to directly grow 2D materials on
Fig. 12a, b [81]. The inverter showed a good noise margin the flexible substrate using a low-temperature plasma CVD
with a high voltage gain of 397 and low power consumption process. Medina et al. used an inductively coupled plasma
of 10.3 pW μm−1 at Vdd = 1 V. The voltage transfer curve of CVD process and a pre-deposited W ­ O3 film on a flexible
the 2D M­ oS2 inverter is shown in Fig. 12c. The ring oscil- PI substrate was selenized at a low temperature of 250 °C
lator exhibited a low propagation delay. The higher perfor- through decomposed high-energy selenium ions [142]. A
mance of the flexible IC suggests that 2D ­MoS2 is a promis- large area high quality monolayer ­WSe2 grown on large
ing channel material for transistor technology for low-power flexible substrate (area = 30 × 40 ­cm2) (Fig. 12e).
and high-performance applications. Several direct band gap
2D materials are also explored in flexible optoelectronics
devices and show good optical properties. 6.2 Biomedical Applications
Large phonon energies, high dielectric breakdown field,
and high in-plane thermal conductivity of the insulating 2D materials have widely gained attention in biomedical
2D h-BN support to improve 2D charge transport in 2D applications because of their lightweight, high flexibility,
materials-based transistors. 2D h-BN with good mechani- good electrical properties, and excellent biocompatibility.
cal properties proves a good dielectric gate material for Many innovations in materials and device manufacturing,
flexible electronics. Moreover, the suitable thickness of and novel circuit design using 2D materials have offered
the 2D h-BN acts as a good thermal management system notable progress in disease diagnosis and health monitor-
for plastic substrates by spreading heat to in-plane metal ing [143]. Moreover, inevitable defects generated during the
electrodes and isolating heat out-of-plane owing to its ani- growth process of the 2D materials offer stronger interaction
sotropic thermal properties. Thermal management is more with biological targets compared to pristine adsorption sites.
crucial for the 2D materials-based flexible device because That would help to develop faster commercial sensors of the
high current density with fast transport may lead to an 2D materials by overcoming the growth challenge of high-
increase in the peak temperature. That increased tempera- quality 2D materials. So, extensive research efforts have
ture would be more than the glass transition temperature been made to detect physiological information using 2D
of plastic substrates. Besides the flexibility of the device, materials-based devices. Basically, physiological informa-
stretchability, biocompatibility, and high bending angle tion is received from the human in terms of physical signals
are also required for conformal electronics, bioelectron- (temperature, electrocardiogram, electroencephalogram, and
ics, and body-mounted devices. The elastic limits of the limb motions) and chemical signals (saliva, breathing bio-
2D materials with minimum grain boundaries are much markers, plasma, and sweat). The 2D materials especially
better than conventional 3D semiconductors. The higher graphene and TMDs based biosensors have shown potential
elastic limit and atomically thin thickness of the 2D mate- for non-invasive, continuous monitoring and identification
rials offer more advantages in the flexible and wearable of different health indicators. Since the first bio-device of
electronics field than the conventional 3D semiconduc- graphene in 2008 with a resolution up to single-bacterium
tors. On the other hand, large-area nanofabrication of the [144] different forms of graphene such as graphene oxide,
2D materials and device fabrication on flexible substrates and reduced graphene oxide have been explored in biomedi-
are prerequisites for flexible and wearable electronics. In cal applications. The hygroscopic nature of the graphene
this regard, many innovative methods (roll-to-roll (R2R) oxide is suitable to detect water molecules during the change

© The authors [Link]

Nano-Micro Lett. (2025) 17:197 Page 25 of 42 197

Fig. 12  a Image of 2D ­MoS2 TFT on flexible (4 × 4 c­ m2) PET substrate. b Optical image of 2D M ­ oS2 based inverter, NAND, NOR, AND,
and ring oscillator. c Voltage transfer curve of the M
­ oS2 inverter. Panels a-c are reproduced with permission [81]. Copyright (2023), Springer
Nature. d Schematic of concentric tube CVD system configured for R2R graphene growth. Reproduced with permission [141]. Copyright
(2015), Springer Nature. e Photograph of the CVD-grown ­WSe2 on a large flexible PI substrate (30 × 40 ­cm2). Reproduced with permission
[142]. Copyright (2017), American Chemical Society

of humidity, and humidity sensors are utilized in various sensing performance with low response time (˃ 10 s) because
non-invasive applications including monitoring sweat rate of excellent electrical properties and the high surface-to-
during exercise and detecting rate of changes in moisture volume ratio of the 2D materials. In addition, microfluidic
levels of respiratory infections. Lipani et al. reported a chips based on 2D materials are also popular for biosensing
non-invasive approach for real-time monitoring of glucose because of their high throughput and low cost. Wang et al.
using CVD-grown graphene [145]. The system measured fabricated a microfluidic chip using graphene oxide for col-
the selective glucose level in the interstitial fluid via elec- lecting whole blood from non-metastatic non-small cell lung
troosmotic extraction through preferential hair follicular cancer patients before, during, and after radiation or chemo-
pathways. This non-invasive approach is more convenient radiation to monitor the effect of radiation chemotherapy on
for glucose detection than traditional finger-stick testing. the PD-L1 expression, as shown in Fig. 13d [148].
Kim et al. reported a sensor using a wafer-scale rGO pat- Besides the development of wearable devices or non-inva-
terning film for low-concentration biomarker detection from sive devices, they are also utilized in implantable devices
plasma. The antibody-modified biomarker sensor changes because they have good stability and compatibility with
the resistance value of the device after binding antibodies biofluids and biological tissues [149, 150]. Conventional
to the target biomarker [146]. The uniform GO deposited implantable devices create some common problems in terms
sensor chip and change in the resistance value of the device of damage to the tissue, scars, or inflammation because of
after biomarker detection are shown in Fig. 13a. The low- the rigid, bulky, and toxic nature of the used material. So,
level detection of the biomarker in plasma was suitable for biocompatibility is most important for the implantable
Alzheimer’s disease diagnosis. In addition, 2D materials are devices. These devices are basically utilized for monitoring
also utilized for the development of self-powered biosen- electrophysiological signals and stimulating muscles and
sors because of the low power consumption of 2D material nerves. Lim et al. reported a hybrid graphene electrode for
devices. Li et al. reported a self-powered pH sensor using a the diagnosis and treatment of epilepsy [151]. They fab-
2D ­MoS2 and that sensor was driven by M ­ oSe2-based pie- ricated a high-density, conformal flexible electrode array
zoelectric nanogenerator [147]. The sensor exhibited high using graphene/Au/graphene with low impedance for brain
 197 Page 26 of 42 Nano-Micro Lett. (2025) 17:197

activities signal, as shown in Fig. 13b. The graphene elec- and bioinspired computing device applications. Moreover,
trode array was mounted on the cortex of the rat (Fig. 13c) the excellent flexibility, transparency, and printable nature
and information was received from different cortical sites of the many 2D materials are helpful for developing emerg-
and, neuro-stimulated for epilepsy treatment in free-mov- ing advanced wearable devices. Many research efforts have
ing rats. Chen et al. reported a M­ oS2-based bioabsorbable been made to mimic biological computation at the device
and multi-functional sensor for intracranial monitoring of level using two (memristor) and three (memtransistors) ter-
pressure, temperature, strain, and motion in animal mod- minal device structures. Various types of switching principles
els (Fig. 13e, f) [150]. The CVD-grown monolayer M ­ oS2 including resistive, phase change, ferroelectric, and atomic
showed bio absorption through hydrolysis in aqueous solu- have been utilized for simulating synaptic plasticity. Artifi-
tions and long-term cytotoxicity and immunological bio- cial neural networks (ANN) algorithms mainly train the pro-
compatibility in biofluids and tissues of live animal models. grammable conductance/resistance of the memristor, which
This sensor technology using 2D M ­ oS2 provides clinically is analogous to variation in synaptic weight, and further hard-
relevant roles in both diagnostic and therapeutic functions ware extension leads to different neuromorphic computing
during the recovery process from traumatic brain injury. applications [155]. Despite the simple device structure, easy
mechanism, and high-density integration, these memristors
have some issues such as destructive read operations, com-
6.3 Artificial Intelligence
plex neuron mimicry, and inherent stochasticity. In a three-
terminal device structure (transistor), the third terminal (gate)
Computation and storage functionalities onto a single unit
as a presynaptic node and source/drain as the postsynaptic
is one of the significant bottlenecks of the conventional von
node are mainly exploited in various devices such as floating
Neumann architecture because of the physical separation
gate memory, gate-tunable memory, and memtransistors for
of logic and memory. The data transfer between logic and
realizing artificial synaptic functionalities. Wang et al. real-
memory has slowed the computation power of the advanced
ize an artificial synapse using three terminals transistors of
Si processor. Significant computing power requirements for
monolayer polycrystalline-MoS2 (Fig. 14a) [156]. The device
the operation of emerging artificial intelligence (AI) algo-
emulates biological synapse behavior by applying presynap-
rithms force to invention of alternating computing methods.
tic input on either a drain or gate terminal and that is highly
On the other hand, size scaling and high energy demand
helpful for developing complex artificial brain-like biologi-
of the Si-based CMOS technology have been triggered to
cal structures. Moreover, the gate tunability function provides
search for new alternating computing processes. Inspired
excellent cycling endurance with an operation of nonvolatile
by the human brain’s biological neural networks, neuromor-
memory functions. The huge hysteresis in the transfer curve
phic computing has captured significant attention to perform
of the polycrystalline ­MoS2 transistor enables it for synapse
complex computation and big-data tasks with high energy
applications. The charge trapping/de-trapping in trap states of
efficiency. Basically, a neuromorphic computing system
the polycrystalline M ­ oS2 was responsible for this huge hys-
emulates the complex chemical behavior of synapses and
teresis during the gate voltage scan (Fig. 14b). Besides the
neurons of the human brain at the device level. The success
ANN, probabilistic neural networks (PNNs) are also utilized
of several neuromorphic chips including TrueNorth, Loihi,
to mimic the fundamental biological functions of the brain.
and SpiNNaker has triggered the interest of the microelec-
Although PNN is inspired by mathematical algorithms rather
tronic industry in neuromorphic computing for AI [152]
than neural biological functions. Sebastian et al. demonstrated
[153, 154]. Moreover, integration of the sensor with these
a Gaussian synapse for the realization of the PNN using het-
neuromorphic computing platforms would be a crucial step
erostructures of dual-gated ­MoS2 and black phosphorus (BP)
to developing hardware-based AI.
FETs, as shown in Fig. 14c [157]. The Gaussian synapse clas-
In the last few years, 2D materials have emerged as poten-
sified brainwave patterns using probabilistic neural networks.
tial candidates for neuromorphic computing device applica-
The threshold engineering in dual-gated ­MoS2 and BP FETs
tions. Their inherent atom-level thickness, surface without
is exploited for dynamic modulation of the amplitude, mean,
dangling bonds, and remarkable electronic and optoelectronic
and standard deviation of the Gaussian synapse. Furthermore,
properties make them suitable for next-level device scaling
Liu et al. demonstrate an optoelectronic artificial synapse with

© The authors [Link]

Nano-Micro Lett. (2025) 17:197 Page 27 of 42 197

Fig. 13  a Schematic of the large area wafer-scale fabricated rGO biosensors with immobilized antibody. Reproduced with permission [146].
Copyright (2016), Springer Nature. b Device structure of graphene (Gr/Au/Gr) electrode. c Photograph of rat with designed a hybrid graphene
electrode. Panels b and c are reproduced with permission [151]. Copyright (2023), Springer Nature. d Schematic of GO chip configuration
and work mechanism of sample collection and circulating tumor cell isolation. Reproduced with permission [148]. Copyright (2019), Springer
Nature. e Structure of a ­MoS2-based biodegradable sensor. f Photograph of a ­MoS2-based bioabsorbable sensor implanted in a rat together with a
commercial one. Panels e and f are reproduced with permission [150]. Copyright (2018), Springer Nature

stable bipolar resistive switching using titanium trisulfide multiple split-gates with nanogaps and tunable RC circuits for
­(TiS3) (Fig. 14d) [158]. These types of artificial optical syn- imitating the spatial map of coincidence detector neurons and
apses have been utilized in advanced neuromorphic vision for imitating the interaural time delay neurons, respectively, as
systems. In addition, Wang et al. demonstrated multiply-accu- shown in Fig. 14f, g. On the other hand, hardware security is
mulate operations using in-memory computing architecture of also a challenge for emerging IoT systems. Reverse engineer-
2D ­MoS2-based two-transistor-one-capacitor (2 T-1C) con- ing (RE) is one of the main hardware security threats to the
figuration [159]. In this work, three layers fully connected IC and is suitable for extracting device-level functionalities
neural network was constructed of input and output neurons for identifying the device technology. IC camouflaging is an
with 20 hidden layers of neurons for handwritten digit recog- emerging significant obfuscation method to hide the IC func-
nition, as shown in Fig. 14e. Ex-situ trained neural network tionality. In this context, Wali et al. utilized the heterostructure
based on experimental results exhibited excellent accuracy of of TMD and its oxide TMO to hide the functionality of the
90.3% for image recognition. Das et al. reported a biomimetic device as well as circuits (Fig. 14h) [161]. Logic gates based
transistor of 2D M­ oS2 for audiomorphic computing [160]. on these heterostructures exhibited resilience to satisfiability
They used the Jeffress model of sound localization to mimic solver and automatic test generation patterns attacks.
the auditory cortex of a barn owl and the device consists of
 197 Page 28 of 42 Nano-Micro Lett. (2025) 17:197

6.4 Quantum Technologies 2D ­WSe2. The 2D TMDs materials exhibit single-photon

emission at low temperatures, while h-BN shows emission
In the past few years, quantum technology has been at the even at room temperature because of its strong exciton
forefront of state-of-art research and innovation in differ- binding. On the other hand, discrete and tunable energy
ent fields including computing, communication, sensing, levels of the 2D materials help to exploit the properties of
and storage because of its unique advantages over classical quantum states for quantum sensing applications. The neg-
technology. Basically, spin state superposition, entangle- atively charged boron vacancies in the 2D h-BN support
ment, and coherence effects drive the quantum technol- to sense of pressure, strain, and temperature because these
ogy. In this context, 2D materials and their van-der-Waals vacancies exhibit good quantum coherence and single-spin
heterostructures with excellent quantum phenomena are addressability [168, 169]. In short, quantum technology
promising candidates for the development of various future applications using 2D materials are in a nascent stage, so
quantum technologies [162]. The utilization and advan- they require continuous exploration.
tage of the 2D materials in different quantum applications
including computing, communication, and sensing are
shown in Fig. 15a [163]. Besides enabling artificial states 6.5 Energy Storage Devices
of quantum matter, the 2D material systems show also
huge potential on solid-state platforms for quantum tech- Depletion of fossil fuel resources and their adverse impact
nology applications [164]. Moreover, 2D materials-based on the environment emphasize to use of clean and sustain-
vdW heterostructures after stacking 2D materials with var- able energy sources and storage devices. The intermittent
ious sequences, different layer spacing, and changing the behavior of renewable energy resources including solar,
relative angle between material layers lead to generating and wind increases the importance of suitable energy stor-
new quantum effects. In regards to quantum computing, age devices such as supercapacitors and batteries. Because
qubits as a fundamental unit of information have been real- these energy resources are highly dependent on the loca-
ized in various forms such as quantum dot qubits, defect tion, weather, and individuals. Moreover, emerging elec-
spin qubits, superconducting qubits, and topological qubits tric vehicles and consumer electronics devices have also
using the 2D materials systems because of their peculiar demanded uninterrupted power supply. From this view,
band structures and unique quantum phenomena. The 2D energy storage devices with high power and current densi-
TMDs materials exhibit faster qubit operations than the ties are needed to address these energy crises. In the past
graphene because of their strong intrinsic spin–orbit cou- few years, 2D materials such as graphene, black phospho-
pling and large exciton binding energies [165]. Further, the rus, MXenes, and TMDs have gained significant interest
susceptibility of defect spin qubits to the environment can in the development of energy storage devices [171, 172].
be overcome using the 2D vdW heterostructures. Moreo- Their unique proprieties including atomically thin layered
ver, vertical stacking of the 2D materials (2D materials structure, high effective surface area, and excellent elec-
having superconductivity and insulation behavior) provide trochemical properties make them promising materials in
a clean interface and that help to develop Josephson junc- the energy storage field. Moreover, layered structures are
tions on the superconducting qubits platform. The van- highly stable during charging and discharging cycles and
der-Waals heterostructures are promising for topological render additional sites for ions in energy storage. The metal
quantum computing and topologically qubits are better electrodes play a vital role in achieving high performance
protected against disorder [166]. In the context of quantum in storage technologies such as electrochemical capacitors
emission for quantum communication applications, 2D and metal-ion batteries. Graphene with excellent conduc-
materials have been explored in different quantum emis- tivity, good functionality, and more importantly the high-
sion phenomena including single photon, biexciton, and est surface area of 2630 m­ 2 ­g−1 among all carbon materials
valley exciton. Parto et al. controlled the exciton character- is an ideal electrode for energy storage devices. In the past
istics of the 2D ­WSe2 using the defect and strain engineer- few years, 2D MXenes and their composites have garnered
ing for single-photon emitters at 150 K [167]. Figure 15b huge interest in the development of energy storage devices
illustrates the site-controlled single-photon emitters in because of their exceptional electrochemical and electrical

© The authors [Link]

Nano-Micro Lett. (2025) 17:197 Page 29 of 42 197

Fig. 14  a Schematic of artificial synapse using 2D ­MoS2. b Transfer characteristics show increased hysteresis with increased gate voltage of the
­MoS2 based synapse. Panels a and b are reproduced with permission [156]. Copyright (2019), Wiley–VCH. c Schematic of Gaussian synapse
using a dual gate of BP and ­MoS2. Reproduced with permission [157]. Copyright (2019), Springer Nature. d Schematic of a biological syn-
apse. Reproduced with permission [158]. Copyright (2021), American Chemical Society. e Schematic of three-layer neuromorphic network for
handwritten digit recognition, confusion matrix, and recognition rate as a function of training epoch for image training and testing. Reproduced
with permission [159]. Copyright (2020), Springer Nature. f Schematic representation of auditory cortex barn owl. g Jeffress model for sound
localization. Panels f and g are reproduced with permission [160]. Copyright (2019), Springer Nature. h An optical image of camouflaged TMO/
TMD heterostructure can be either a resistor, a diode, or a transistor. Reproduced with permission [161]. Copyright (2021), American Chemical
Society

properties. A supercapacitor is made from two symmetric properties for efficient and robust operation of the energy
electrodes separated by a membrane, and both electrodes storage device. However, it is difficult to find pseudoca-
are connected through ions of electrolytes. These electro- pacitance and EDL properties in a single energy storage
chemical capacitors as supercapacitors store energy in two material. Nevertheless, energy storage by ion adsorption at
forms either electrochemical double layer (EDL) (electro- the electrode/electrolyte interface and additional contribu-
lyte ions collected at the electrode/electrolyte interface) or tion from Faradaic redox reactions can be achieved by the
through Faradaic redox reactions (involvement of the elec- synthesis of 2D materials-based heterostructures. Islam
trode material’s surface regions), known as pseudocapaci- et al. reported a wearable textile supercapacitor using
tance [173]. From this view, materials should have both the heterostructures of graphene and M ­ oS2 [170]. They
 197 Page 30 of 42 Nano-Micro Lett. (2025) 17:197

Fig. 15  a Schematic represents the advantages and applications of the 2D materials in quantum technology. Reproduced with permission [163].
Copyright (2024), Springer Nature. b Schematic illustration of strain and defect engineered ­WSe2 based single-photon emitter. Reproduced with
permission [167]. Copyright (2020), Springer Nature. c Schematic of e-textile supercapacitor using heterostructure of graphene and ­MoS2. d
Image of powering LED using three capacitors in series. Panels c and d are Reproduced with permission [170]. Copyright (2023), American
Chemical Society

used a controllable microfluidization technique for highly as shown in Fig. 15d. Yun et al. reported a flexible wire-
scalable wearable e-textiles manufacturing, as shown in shaped supercapacitor and a layer-by-layer assembly pro-
Fig. 15c. The supercapacitor showed a very high perfor- cess was used for fabricating a wire-shaped supercapacitor
mance as graphene possesses an intrinsically high electri- on conducting carbon yarn using rGO and ­Ti3C2Tx MXene
cal conductivity and ­MoS2 exhibits a tuneable bandgap. [174]. The supercapacitors showed high areal capacitance
An aerial capacitance of ∼105.08 mF c­ m–2, power density (40.8 mF ­cm−2), volumetric capacitance (2193 F c­ m−3),
of ∼1604.274 μW ­cm–2, and energy density of ∼58.377 and specific capacitance (237 F ­g−1) and exhibited excel-
μWh ­cm–2 was obtained by using this supercapacitor. The lent mechanical stability with good retention ability of
heterostructure textile-based supercapacitor combined the 90% after 200 bending cycles. On the other hand, batteries
working mechanism of pseudocapacitance and double- are widely exploited as main energy storage devices for
layer capacitance and hence acts as a hybrid capacitor. consumable electronics and emerging electric vehicles.
Further, three capacitors connected in series glowed LED The 2D materials have been explored in different types
and that confirms the practical applicability of the device, of batteries including lithium-ion batteries, sodium-ion

© The authors [Link]

Nano-Micro Lett. (2025) 17:197 Page 31 of 42 197

batteries, and magnesium-ion batteries, etc. Hwang et al. 2D materials-based gas sensor. Several innovative strate-
reported an anode electrode for lithium-ion batteries using gies have been utilized to address these challenges. External
the disordered graphene-like structure of the ­MoS2 nano- optical or thermal energy is supplied to the sensor to achieve
plates [175]. The high Li-ion storage capacity and good complete recovery because the provided energy above the
electrochemical performance were shown because of the threshold is sufficient to break strong interaction between gas
larger interlayer distance of the ­MoS2 nanoplates and dis- molecules and adsorption sites [178]. Moreover, encapsula-
ordered graphene-like morphology. Furthermore, MXenes tion of the 2D materials surface with other materials helps to
have much explored and shown huge potential to fabri- improve the stability of the 2D materials. In addition, func-
cate anode electrodes for Li-ion batteries. In the context tionalization and hybridization of the 2D sensing layer with
of sodium-ion batteries, layered 2D TMDs, and MXenes other nanomaterials (quantum dots, nanoparticles, nanow-
materials are compatible with anode electrodes because ires) have further improved the sensing performance of the
graphite electrodes could not be suitable for the sodium- 2D materials-based gas sensors. The 2D material-based sen-
ion batteries owing to the large size of the Na ion [176]. sors have achieved significant progress in the gas sensing
field and provide promise to employ them in advanced IoT
and mobile applications. From a technological perspective,
6.6 Sensors Zanjani et al. integrated graphene on the top of a commercial
Si-CMOS chip (fabricated with 0.18 µm CMOS technology)
Sensors play a crucial role in the development of the cur- and performed the sensing for N ­ O2 and N­ H3 gases [179].
rent IoT ecosystem. The sensor detects physical or chemi- The monolithic CMOS-graphene gas sensor device is shown
cal stimuli from the surrounding environment and converts in Fig. 16a. A change in conductivity of the graphene upon
them to an electrical signal. From this view, the inherent exposure to gas influences the output signal of the read-
property of high surface-to-volume of the atomically thick out circuit of the Si-CMOS chip. The decreased resistance
2D materials provides a large specific surface area for more value of the p-type graphene after electron extraction by
interaction with external surrounding stimuli compared to ­NO2 reduced the propagation delay of a ring oscillator in
other structural materials. External gas, chemical vapor, bio- the readout circuit and that results in increased correspond-
molecules, humidity, and temperature generate electronic ing output frequency, as shown in Fig. 16b. The monolithic
perturbations on the surface of the 2D materials. Effective CMOS-graphene gas sensor exhibited good sensitivity to
electronic perturbation plays a significant role in the devel- ­NO2 and N ­ H3 at atmospheric ambient. Furthermore, tune-
opment of highly sensitive and fast sensor devices. Gas, able band gap, biocompatibility, and strong photolumines-
chemical, and biological molecules interact on the surface cence of the 2D materials support to detection of low con-
of the 2D materials through physisorption (vdW interaction) centrations target biological molecules from the complex
and chemisorption (interaction on defect, vacancy on the biological samples. For biomolecule detection, field-effect
surface of the 2D material) [177]. That electronic interaction transistor (FET) device structure is mostly used for 2D mate-
gives rise to a charge transfer gas sensing mechanism. Single rials compared to capacitive and resistive biosensor struc-
gas ­(NO2) molecule detection at room temperature by gra- tures. The electron transport of 2D material as the channel of
phene sensor in 2007 has provided interest in exploring the the FET changes after the interaction of target biomolecules.
2D materials in the sensing field [30]. Many 2D materials Therefore, high-mobility materials are needed to detect the
have shown potential for real-time detecting different gases biomolecules. Moreover, surface functionalization/modifica-
­(NO2, ­NH3, ­SO2, ­CO2, etc.), volatile organic compounds tion of the channel and novel structure design improve the
(VOCs), and biomolecules at room temperature. Detection selectivity of the biosensor toward specific analytes. Nowa-
of the gas at room temperature using 2D materials is a big days, graphene-enabled field-effect biosensors are commer-
achievement in the gas sensing field because commercial gas cially available for the detection of selective biomolecules
sensors based on metal oxide semiconductors detect the gas (Fig. 16c) [180]. The performance of the biosensor is com-
at elevated temperatures (˃ 150 °C). However, incomplete parable (or superior) to conventional biosensor devices. The
recovery at room temperature and susceptibility of the 2D commercial biosensor chip is shown in Fig. 16d. In addition
materials toward the atmosphere is still a challenge for the to change of electrical parameter such as current, resistance,
 197 Page 32 of 42 Nano-Micro Lett. (2025) 17:197

and capacitance values of the 2D material-based electronic applications. However, the intrinsic inertness of pristine
devices under the exposure the gases, modulation of optical microresonators limits their potential in emerging fields,
properties of the optical devices in presence of the gases is such as gas detection. Functionalizing these microcavities
also a promising approach for selective and highly sensitive with atomically thin materials, such as graphene, overcomes
gas detection. In this context, Yao and his group have inte- these limitations and introduces novel sensing capabilities.
grated graphene with various optical devices for gas sensing Graphene’s exceptional optical and electronic properties,
applications. They have developed graphene heterogeneous including strong nonlinearity, tunability, and high sensitiv-
D-shaped fiber device [181], graphene over-modal microres- ity to adsorption, make it an ideal material for integrating
onator [182], and graphene-functionalized microlaser [183] with optical systems [183]. For instance, functionalized
for individual gas molecules detection and identification of microcavity sensors, like erbium-doped microspheres with
gas molecules from the gas mixture. On the other hand, 2D graphene layers, generate laser lines in distinct mode fami-
materials have also been exploited for sensitive detection of lies using a single pump source. These co-generated modes
pressure, temperature and humidity. interfere, producing beat notes in the electrical domain with
In gas sensing, 2D materials like graphene offer remark- sub-kHz accuracy, thanks to graphene-induced intracavity
able enhancements in sensitivity and detection limit through backward scattering. This allows precise identification of
advanced control mechanisms such as working point adjust- multiple gas species in mixtures, even without a laboratory
ment, leveraging their unique electronic and optical prop- setup. Similarly, graphene-functionalized soliton frequency
erties. A significant breakthrough was demonstrated using combs have been shown to enable real-time single-molecule
graphene integrated into a bipolar-junction-transistor hetero- detection through the unique properties of Stokes solitons
geneous D-shaped fiber (GhDF), where ultrasensitive four- [182]. By asymmetrically depositing graphene on micro-
wave mixing (FWM) down-conversion enabled the detection resonators, spectrally trapped solitons with locked repetition
of individual gas molecules in real time under vacuum con- rates but distinct offsets are generated in the same device.
ditions [181]. This was achieved through the steep change These solitons produce highly sensitive beat notes in the
in FWM conversion efficiency as the graphene Fermi level electrical domain, with their stability allowing tracking of
­(EF) approached 0.4 eV, a condition that can be finely tuned frequency shifts with uncertainty below 0.2 Hz. Such sensi-
via external electrical controls. Gas adsorption modulates tivity enables the detection of individual gas molecules, as
graphene’s ­EF either by charge transfer or impurity doping, demonstrated with ­NH3 adsorption events, where graphene’s
significantly altering its optical and electronic behavior. interaction with gas molecules directly modulates the Fermi
For instance, ­NH3 acts as a donor molecule, contributing level ­(EF), leading to measurable optical responses. Further-
electrons and directly shifting E ­ F, while C
­ O2 introduces more, this method enables the detection of multi-component
scattering impurities, changing graphene’s refractive index. gas mixtures by analyzing the beat note responses of differ-
Such mechanisms allow precise adjustments to the sensing ent Stokes solitons to specific gases, achieving high selectiv-
working point, enhancing the detection of specific gases ity and quantitative accuracy. The hybridization of micro-
or broader chemical classes. For ­NH3, the detection relies cavities with 2D materials thus combines soliton stability,
on lone electron pairs of nitrogen, enabling the sensing of electrical tunability, and ultrasensitive light-matter interac-
related amino molecules like N­ H2CH3 or N(CH2CH3)3. The tions, enabling real-time detection of individual molecules
combination of graphene’s strong nonlinearity, electrical and gas mixtures. These advances pave the way for compact,
tunability, and integration with photonic platforms enables high-performance optical sensors with applications in envi-
high-sensitivity detection that was previously unachievable ronmental monitoring, healthcare diagnostics, and industrial
in integrated photonic devices. safety.
Moreover, integrating 2D materials with advanced optical
technologies, such as optical frequency combs and micro-
cavity mode splitting, enables real-time multi-component 6.7 Photodetectors
gas detection with unprecedented single-molecule preci-
sion. Optical microcavities are powerful tools for enhanc- The photodetector is a famous optoelectronic device that
ing light–matter interactions, crucial for precise sensing plays a crucial role in different applications including

© The authors [Link]

Nano-Micro Lett. (2025) 17:197 Page 33 of 42 197

Fig. 16  a Graphene chemiresistor gas sensors are integrated with commercial Si transistor chips to form a ring oscillator circuit. b Changes
in frequency and phase to a varied N­ O2 gas concentration. Panels a and b are reproduced with permission [179]. Copyright (2017), Springer
Nature. c Device structure and read-out circuit, and d a complete device image, of the commercial graphene-based biosensor. Panels c and d are
reproduced with permission [180]. Copyright (2018), Springer Nature. e The Gr/MoSe2/Si photodetector with graphene transparent electrode.
Reproduced with permission [184]. Copyright (2016), Wiley–VCH. f Broadband photovoltaic detector of p–g–n heterostructure ­(MoS2 –gra-
phene –WSe2). Reproduced with permission [185]. Copyright (2016), American Chemical Society

medical imaging, optical sensing, and optical communi- photo-gating, photo-thermoelectric, bolometric, direct
cation. In the past few years, 2D materials have attracted and Fowler–Nordheim tunnelling. Despite the different
tremendous attention in the development of photode- photodetection mechanisms, conventional figures-of-merit
tectors because of their excellent optical, and electri- of the photodetector such as photoresponsivity, quantum
cal properties and flexible integration. The 2D materi- efficiency, detectivity, response time, optical bandwidth,
als have been utilized in effective photodetection for an etc. are utilized to evaluate the performance of the 2D
ultrabroad wavelength range from ultraviolet to THz materials-based photodetectors. The working of 2D mate-
[186]. In the context of 2D materials photodetection, the rial photodetectors based on photoconductive effect are
incident photons on the active region of the device lead widely explored and that results in high dark current and
to an electrical signal through different photo-sensing low detectivity. The gate modulation in phototransistors
mechanisms including photovoltaic, photoconductive, helps to improve the sensitivity and reduce dark current.
 197 Page 34 of 42 Nano-Micro Lett. (2025) 17:197

Moreover, utilization of the ferroelectric materials in transparent electrodes improve the photoresponse by
gate dielectric also supports enhanced sensitivity through avoiding the shading of the active area of the device com-
reducing dark current by exploiting the local electrostatic pared to conventional metal electrodes. Among the differ-
field of the ferroelectric material. Schranghamer et al. ent vdW heterostructures of 2D materials, the integration
reported an ultra-scaled and low-power phototransistor of 2D materials with Si has grabbed more attention in
using the 2D ­MoS2 with an active area of device 0.0065 the development of advanced photodetector devices. The
µm 2 [187] . The device showed high responsitivity of matured silicon photonics offer low-cost easy read-out
8.84 × ­108 A W
­ −1 and detectivity of 1.65 × ­1013 Jones by circuits platforms and are compatible with conventional
exploiting the photogating effect through trapping of pho- CMOS technology.
togenerated holes in high k dielectric ­Al2O3 under deple-
tion mode operation.
The individual 2D material-based device shows low
7 Concluding Remarks and Outlook
absorption of light because of its inherent atomically thin
The increasing demand of flexible, wearable, and portable
thickness. A monolayer 2D material-based photodetector
electronics have aroused worldwide interest in atomically
exhibits lower photoresponsivity compared to conven-
thin 2D materials. Over the past decade, the advent of newly
tional commercial photodetectors. The graphene provides
discovered properties of 2D materials have transformed the
a wide spectral range owing to its zero-band gap, but the
smart devices, ranging from flexible electronics to quantum
short lifetime of photogenerated carriers impedes large
technologies. As conventional materials undergo a transition
photocurrent. In contrast, several 2D TMDs materials have
from 3 to 2D by reducing their thickness at atomic levels in
large band gaps and large carrier lifetimes. From this view,
one direction, some exciting physics occurs particularly due
the construction of vdW heterostructures using 2D mate-
to quantum confinement. The occurrence of quantum phys-
rials is a promising method to exploit their synergistic
ics makes the 2D materials more sensitive to environmental
effects in photodetection. Yu et al. reported a broadband
conditions and external stimuli. From a smart device per-
and self-powered photodetector using wafer-scale P ­ tTe2/
spective, this gives an extra edge for determining different
graphene heterostructures [188]. The photodetector
parameters precisely. For instance, the presence of a single
exhibited good photodetection performance in broadband
atom of hazardous gas molecule could be detected by 2D
wavelength range from 405 to 1850 nm. The photodiode
materials. Despite the promising applications of 2D materi-
showed high D* (~ 2.58 × ­1010 Jones) and a fast response
als in developing smart devices, we still face many chal-
time of ∼8.4 μs. Long et al. inserted graphene in between
lenges for their practical implementation. For further devel-
the p–n vdW heterostructure of M ­ oS2/WSe2 and formed
opment of 2D-based smart devices, the following aspects
a ­MoS2 –graphene –WSe2 heterostructure-based photode-
need to be addressed:
tector, as shown in Fig. 16f [185]. Graphene with zero
energy band gap helps to provide a wide spectral range
1. Several commercial enterprises have already started
for effective light absorption. The photodetector showed making smart devices using 2D materials, particularly
good photodetection in the broadband range from visible graphene. However, the cost is relatively high due to
to short-wavelength infrared range and exhibited spe- the complexity associated with large-scale production
cific detectivity of up to 1­ 011 Jones in the near-infrared of 2D materials. Moreover, the air stability of some of
region at room temperature. A vertical device structure the 2D materials makes them incompatible for develop-
of graphene/MoSe 2/Si heterostructure exhibited excel- ing smart devices. For instance, phosphorene is unstable
under ambient conditions as it would get easily oxidized.
lent photoresponse in a wide range of 350–1310 nm and
Hence, some complex techniques such as chemical func-
importantly, an ultrafast photoresponse speed of ≈270 ns
tionalization, elemental doping, and oxidation-resistant
[184]. The photodetector device is shown in Fig. 16e. The coatings have been adopted to improve the air stability
transparent top graphene electrode of the device enhances of 2D-based smart devices.
the carrier collection and reduces the recombination at 2. Mixed dimensional heterostructures created by combin-
electrode junction because of the strong built-in electric ing different dimensional materials offers unique device
field in graphene/MoSe 2/Si heterojunctions. Moreover, functionalities, however, synthesizing defect-free and

© The authors [Link]

Nano-Micro Lett. (2025) 17:197 Page 35 of 42 197

stable interfaces remains a significant challenge. The Authors’ Contributions NG: conceptualization, Investigation,
device performance further deteriorates with increas- visualization, original draft writing, review, supervision. RK: inves-
ing differences between thermal expansion coefficients tigation, visualization, original draft writing, review, supervision.
and lattice parameters of the constituent materials due Declarations
to mechanical strain.
3. Another difficulty in developing mixed-dimensional Conflict of Interest The authors declare no interest conflict. They
heterostructures-based smart devices is making reli- have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships
able contact with an individual material. Contact that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper.
resistance for short-channel devices is another crucial
aspect that requires immediate attention. Contact engi- Open Access This article is licensed under a Creative Commons
neering is required at the metal-semiconductor inter- Attribution 4.0 International License, which permits use, sharing,
adaptation, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format,
face to make efficient charge transport across the het-
as long as you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and
erointerfaces. By using some solvent-based techniques the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons licence, and
or dry chemical processes, we can achieve the optimal indicate if changes were made. The images or other third party
contacts for enhancing the overall performance of the material in this article are included in the article’s Creative Com-
sensors. mons licence, unless indicated otherwise in a credit line to the
4. The interfacial physics specifically for 2D-based het- material. If material is not included in the article’s Creative Com-
erojunctions is still elusive. For instance, the formation mons licence and your intended use is not permitted by statutory
regulation or exceeds the permitted use, you will need to obtain
of the depletion layer between atomically thin mate-
permission directly from the copyright holder. To view a copy of
rials requires further study as the order of depletion this licence, visit [Link]
width may be much higher than the physical thick-
ness of these materials. Therefore, interfacial dynam-
ics at mixed-dimensional heterojunctions need to be
explored to understand the carrier density distribution
References
and their transport processes. Moreover, some of the 1. K.S. Kim, J. Kwon, H. Ryu, C. Kim, H. Kim et al., The future
newly discovered 2D materials such as phosphorene, of two-dimensional semiconductors beyond Moore’s law.
silicene, and arsenene have a very short history. Hence, Nat. Nanotechnol. 19, 895–906 (2024). [Link]
the inherent properties of these materials such as elec- 1038/​s41565-​024-​01695-1
tronic, chemical, and mechanical properties need to be 2. A.K. Geim, K.S. Novoselov, The rise of graphene. Nat. Mater.
explored to unearth their full potential for developing 6, 183 (2007). [Link]
smart devices. 3. D. Lembke, S. Bertolazzi, A. Kis, Single-layer ­MoS2 elec-
5. Integrating 2D materials with existing Si technology tronics. Acc. Chem. Res. 48, 100–110 (2015). [Link] oi.o​ rg/​
10.​1021/​ar500​274q
is very difficult due to difference in device fabrication
processes and architectures. This integration requires 4. M. Chhowalla, Z. Liu, H. Zhang, Two-dimensional transition
metal dichalcogenide (TMD) nanosheets. Chem. Soc. Rev.
advanced growth, transfer, and encapsulation method-
44, 2584–2586 (2015). [Link] oi.o​ rg/1​ 0.1​ 039/C
​ 5CS90​ 037A
ologies while carefully understanding the device physics
5. A. Carvalho, M. Wang, X. Zhu, A.S. Rodin, H. Su et al.,
and processing compatibility. Phosphorene: from theory to applications. Nat. Rev. Mater.
1, 16061 (2016). [Link]
In summary, the incorporation of 2D materials for 6. K.R.G. Lim, M. Shekhirev, B.C. Wyatt, B. Anasori,
developing smart devices has a huge potential to bridge Y. Gogotsi et al., Fundamentals of MXene synthesis.
the technological gap between conventional and mod- Nat. Synth. 1, 601–614 (2022). [Link]
s44160-​022-​00104-6
ern electronic devices. However, the device architecture,
7. A.K. Katiyar, A.T. Hoang, D. Xu, J. Hong, B.J. Kim et al., 2D
stability, performance improvement strategies, and other materials in flexible electronics: recent advances and future
technical aspects need extensive studies to pave the way prospectives. Chem. Rev. 124, 318–419 (2024). [Link]
for next-generation smart devices. By addressing these org/​10.​1021/​acs.​chemr​ev.​3c003​02
8. J. Du, H. Yu, B. Liu, M. Hong, Q. Liao et al., Strain engi-
challenges, 2D materials are poised to unlock new levels
neering in 2D material-based flexible optoelectronics. Small
of performance and functionality in smart devices, poten- Methods 5, 2000919 (2021). [Link]
tially transforming fields ranging from flexible electronics 20200​0919
to quantum computing and beyond. 9. H. Chen, X. Xue, C. Liu, J. Fang, Z. Wang et al., Logic gates
based on neuristors made from two-dimensional materials.
 197 Page 36 of 42 Nano-Micro Lett. (2025) 17:197

Nat. Electron. 4, 399–404 (2021). [Link] hole gas of black phosphorus. Nano Lett. 16, 7768–7773
s41928-​021-​00591-z (2016). [Link]
10. J. Jiang, Y. Wen, H. Wang, L. Yin, R. Cheng et al., Recent 23. J. Wu, C. Tan, Z. Tan, Y. Liu, J. Yin et al., Controlled
advances in 2D materials for photodetectors. Adv. Electron. synthesis of high-mobility atomically thin bismuth oxysele-
Mater. 7, 2001125 (2021). [Link] nide crystals. Nano Lett. 17, 3021 (2017). [Link]
20200​1125 10.​1021/​acs.​nanol​ett.​7b003​35
11. A. Kushwaha, N. Goel, Edge enriched M ­ oS2 micro flowered 24. F. Xia, T. Mueller, Y.-M. Lin, A. Valdes-Garcia, P. Avouris,
structure for high performance ­NO2 sensor. Sensors Actuators Ultrafast graphene photodetector. Nat. Nanotechnol. 4,
B Chem. 393, 134190 (2023). [Link] 839–843 (2009). [Link]
2023.​134190 25. R. You, Y. Liu, Y. Hao, D. Han, Y. Zhang et al., Laser fabrica-
12. Y. Zhu, L. Peng, Z. Fang, C. Yan, X. Zhang et al., Structural tion of graphene-based flexible electronics. Adv. Mater. 32,
engineering of 2D nanomaterials for energy storage and 1901981 (2020). [Link]
catalysis. Adv. Mater. 30, e1706347 (2018). [Link] 26. C.-H. Liu, Y.-C. Chang, T.B. Norris, Z. Zhong, Graphene
10.​1002/​adma.​20170​6347 photodetectors with ultra-broadband and high responsivity at
13. A.C. Berends, C. de Mello-Donega, Ultrathin one- and two- room temperature. Nat. Nanotechnol. 9, 273 (2014). [Link]
dimensional colloidal semiconductor nanocrystals: push- doi.​org/​10.​1038/​nnano.​2014.​31
ing quantum confinement to the limit. J. Phys. Chem. Lett. 27. T. Mueller, F. Xia, P. Avouris, Graphene photodetectors for
8, 4077–4090 (2017). [Link] high-speed optical communications. Nat. Photon. 4, 297–301
7b016​40 (2010). [Link]
14. Y. Chan, M.H. Naik, J.B. Haber, J.B. Neaton, S.G. Louie 28. R. Pandey, N. Singhal, P. Kumar, K. Choudhary, S. Kumar,
et al., Exciton–phonon coupling induces a new pathway Graphene and its immense contribution in defense and secu-
for ultrafast intralayer-to-interlayer exciton transition and rity: a review. Anal. Chem. Lett. 12, 1–12 (2022). [Link]
interlayer charge transfer in ­WS2–MoS2 heterostructure: a org/​10.​1080/​22297​928.​2021.​19800​99
first-principles study. Nano Lett. 24, 7972 (2024). [Link] 29. N. Chauhan, T. Maekawa, D.N.S. Kumar, Graphene based
doi.​org/​10.​1021/​acs.​nanol​ett.​4c015​08 biosensors—accelerating medical diagnostics to new-dimen-
15. M.H. Miah, M.U. Khandaker, M.B. Rahman, M. Nur-E- sions. J. Mater. Res. 32, 2860–2882 (2017). [Link]
Alam, M.A. Islam, Band gap tuning of perovskite solar 10.​1557/​jmr.​2017.​91
cells for enhancing the efficiency and stability: issues and 30. F. Schedin, A.K. Geim, S.V. Morozov, E.W. Hill, P. Blake
prospects. RSC Adv. 14, 15876 (2024). [Link] et al., Detection of individual gas molecules adsorbed on
1039/​D4RA0​1640H graphene. Nat. Mater. 6, 652–655 (2007). [Link]
16. S.J. Kim, H.-J. Lee, C.-H. Lee, H.W. Jang, 2D materials- 1038/​nmat1​967
based 3D integration for neuromorphic hardware. npj 31. A.A. Basheer, Advances in the smart materials applications
2D Mater. Appl. 8, 70 (2024). [Link] oi.​o rg/​1 0.​1 038/​ in the aerospace industries. Aircr. Eng. Aerosp. Technol. 92,
s41699-​024-​00509-1 1027 (2020). [Link]
17. Z. Li, Y. Lv, L. Ren, J. Li, L. Kong et al., Efficient strain 32. M.F. El-Kady, Y. Shao, R.B. Kaner, Graphene for batter-
modulation of 2D materials via polymer encapsulation. ies, supercapacitors and beyond. Nat. Rev. Mater. 1, 16033
Nat. Commun. 11, 1151 (2020). [Link] (2016). [Link]
s41467-​020-​15023-3
33. T. Chu, H. Ilatikhameneh, G. Klimeck, R. Rahman, Z. Chen,
18. F. Wu, H. Tian, Y. Shen, Z. Hou, J. Ren et al., Vertical M ­ oS2 Electrically tunable bandgaps in bilayer ­MoS2. Nano Lett. 15,
transistors with sub-1-nm gate lengths. Nature 603, 259– 8000 (2015). [Link]
264 (2022). [Link]
34. E. Singh, K.S. Kim, G.Y. Yeom, H.S. Nalwa, Atomically
19. Q. Xie, C.-J. Lee, J. Xu, C. Wann, J.Y.-C. Sun et al., Com- thin-layered molybdenum disulfide (­ MoS2) for bulk-heter-
prehensive analysis of short-channel effects in ultrathin SOI ojunction solar cells. ACS Appl. Mater. Interfaces 9, 3223–
MOSFETs. IEEE Trans. Electron Devices 60, 1814–1819 3245 (2017). [Link]
(2013). [Link]
35. S. Aftab, H.H. Hegazy, Emerging trends in 2D TMDs photo-
20. S.B. Desai, S.R. Madhvapathy, A.B. Sachid, J.P. Llinas, detectors and piezo-phototronic devices. Small 19, 2205778
Q. Wang et al., M ­ oS 2 transistors with 1-nanometer gate (2023). [Link]
lengths. Science 354, 99–102 (2016). [Link]
36. E.C. Ahn, 2D materials for spintronic devices. NPJ
1126/​scien​ce.​aah46​98
2D Mater. Appl. 4, 17 (2020). [Link] oi.​o rg/​1 0.​1 038/​
21. D.C. Elias, R.V. Gorbachev, A.S. Mayorov, S.V. Morozov, s41699-​020-​0152-0
A.A. Zhukov et al., Dirac cones reshaped by interaction
37. H. Tian, C. Ren, S. Wang, Valleytronics in two-dimensional
effects in suspended graphene. Nat. Phys. 7, 701–704
materials with line defect. Nanotechnology 33, 212001
(2011). [Link]
(2022). [Link]
22. G. Long, D. Maryenko, J. Shen, S. Xu, J. Hou et al.,
38. A. Mondal, A. Vomiero, 2D transition metal dichalcogenides-
Achieving ultrahigh carrier mobility in two-dimensional
based electrocatalysts for hydrogen evolution reaction. Adv.

© The authors [Link]

Nano-Micro Lett. (2025) 17:197 Page 37 of 42 197

Funct. Mater. 32, 2208994 (2022). [Link] 54. A.F. Young, Y. Zhang, P. Kim, Experimental Manifesta-
adfm.​20220​8994 tion of Berry Phase in Graphene, eds by H. S. Aoki, M.
39. Z. Zhang, X. Yang, K. Liu, R. Wang, Epitaxy of 2D materials Dresselhaus. Physics of Graphene. NanoScience and Tech-
toward single crystals. Adv. Sci. 9, 2105201 (2022). [Link] nology. (Springer, Cham, 2014). [Link]
doi.​org/​10.​1002/​advs.​20210​5201 978-3-​319-​02633-6_1
40. J. Wang, F. Ma, W. Liang, M. Sun, Magnetics and spintronics 55. C. Popovici, O. Oliveira, W. de Paula, T. Frederico, Charge
on two-dimensional composite materials of graphene/hexago- confinement and Klein tunnelling from doping graphene.
nal boron nitride. Mater. Today Phys. 2, 6 (2017). [Link] Phys. Rev. B 85, 235424 (2012). [Link]
org/​10.​1016/j.​mtphys.​2017.​10.​003 PhysR​evB.​85.​235424
41. X. Li, Y. Long, L. Ma, J. Li, J. Yin et al., Coating per- 56. W. Li, X. Qian, J. Li, Phase transitions in 2D materials.
formance of hexagonal boron nitride and graphene layers. Nat. Rev. Mater. 6, 829–846 (2021). [Link] oi.​o rg/​1 0.​
2D Mater. 8, 034002 (2021). [Link] 1038/​s41578-​021-​00304-0
1583/​abe777 57. Z. Dai, L. Liu, Z. Zhang, Strain engineering of 2D materi-
42. Y. Sasama, K. Komatsu, S. Moriyama, M. Imura, T. Teraji als: issues and opportunities at the interface. Adv. Mater.
et al., High-mobility diamond field effect transistor with 31, 1805417 (2019). [Link]
a monocrystalline h-BN gate dielectric. APL Mater. 6, 0222
111105 (2018). [Link] 58. H. Ryu, Y. Lee, J.H. Jeong, Y. Lee, Y. Cheon et al., Laser-
43. S. Roy, X. Zhang, A.B. Puthirath, A. Meiyazhagan, S. Bhat- induced phase transition and patterning of hBN-encapsulated
tacharyya et al., Structure, properties and applications of ­MoTe2. Small 19, 2205224 (2023). [Link]
two-dimensional hexagonal boron nitride. Adv. Mater. 33, smll.​20220​5224
2101589 (2021). [Link] 59. F. Zhang, H. Zhang, S. Krylyuk, C.A. Milligan, Y. Zhu et al.,
44. W. Hu, L. Lin, C. Yang, J. Dai, J. Yang, Edge-modified Electric-field induced structural transition in vertical ­MoTe2-
phosphorene nanoflake heterojunctions as highly efficient and ­Mo1–xWxTe2-based resistive memories. Nat. Mater. 18,
solar cells. Nano Lett. 16, 1675–1682 (2016). [Link] 55–61 (2019). [Link]
org/​10.​1021/​acs.​nanol​ett.​5b045​93 60. Y. Wang, J. Xiao, H. Zhu, Y. Li, Y. Alsaid et al., Structural
45. X.-Q. Lu, C.-K. Wang, X.-X. Fu, Modulating the electronic phase transition in monolayer ­MoTe2 driven by electrostatic
structures of blue phosphorene towards spintronics. Phys. doping. Nature 550, 487 (2017). [Link] oi.o​ rg/1​ 0.1​ 038/n​ atur​
Chem. Chem. Phys. 21, 11755–11763 (2019). [Link] e24043
org/​10.​1039/​C9CP0​1684H 61. Q. Huang, X. Li, M. Sun, L. Zhang, C. Song et al., The mech-
46. C. Guo, L. Wang, H. Xing, X. Chen, The study of ambipolar anistic insights into the 2H–1T phase transition of M ­ oS2 upon
behavior in phosphorene field-effect transistors. J. Appl. Phys. alkali metal intercalation: from the study of dynamic sodia-
120, 215701 (2016). [Link] tion processes of ­MoS2 nanosheets. Adv. Mater. Interfaces 4,
47. J. Lu, J. Yang, A. Carvalho, H. Liu, Y. Lu et al., Light–matter 1700171 (2017). [Link]
interactions in phosphorene. Acc. Chem. Res. 49, 1806–1815 62. D.H. Keum, S. Cho, J.H. Kim, D.-H. Choe, H.-J. Sung et al.,
(2016). [Link] Bandgap opening in few-layered monoclinic M ­ oTe2. Nat.
48. Z. Nourbakhsh, R. Asgari, Phosphorene as a nanoelec- Phys. 11, 482–486 (2015). [Link] oi.o​ rg/1​ 0.1​ 038/n​ phys3​ 314
tromechanical material. Phys. Rev. B 98, 125427 (2018). 63. K.-A.N. Duerloo, E.J. Reed, Structural phase transitions by
[Link] design in monolayer alloys. ACS Nano 10, 289–297 (2016).
49. A.A. Balandin, Thermal properties of graphene and nano- [Link]
structured carbon materials. Nat. Mater. 10, 569–581 64. S. Cho, S. Kim, J.H. Kim, J. Zhao, J. Seok et al., Phase pat-
(2011). [Link] terning for ohmic homojunction contact in ­MoTe2. Science
50. S. Mazumder, Boltzmann transport equation based mod- 349, 625 (2015). [Link]
eling of phonon heat conduction: progress and challenges. 65. Z. Yang, D. Zhang, J. Cai, C. Gong, Q. He et al., Joule heating
Annu. Rev. Heat Transf. 24, 71 (2022). [Link] induced non-melting phase transition and multi-level con-
1615/​Annua​lRevH​eatTr​ansfer.​20220​41316 ductance in ­MoTe2 based phase change memory. Appl. Phys.
51. D.-T. Nguyen, M. Hofmann, Y.-P. Hsieh, Graphene-Rubber Lett. 121, 203508 (2022). [Link]
Nanocomposites (CRC Press, Boca Raton, 2022), pp.19–51 66. Y. Shuang, Q. Chen, M. Kim, Y. Wang, Y. Saito et al., N ­ bTe4
52. B. Illing, S. Fritschi, H. Kaiser, C.L. Klix, G. Maret et al., phase-change material: breaking the phase-change tempera-
Mermin-Wagner fluctuations in 2D amorphous solids. Proc. ture balance in 2D Van der Waals transition-metal binary
Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A. 114, 1856–1861 (2017). [Link] chalcogenide. Adv. Mater. 35, 2303646 (2023). [Link]
org/​10.​1073/​pnas.​16129​64114 org/​10.​1002/​adma.​20230​3646
53. K.S. Novoselov, A.K. Geim, S.V. Morozov, D. Jiang, M.I. 67. L. Zhu, S.-S. Wang, S. Guan, Y. Liu, T. Zhang et al., Blue
Katsnelson et al., Two-dimensional gas of massless Dirac phosphorene oxide: strain-tunable quantum phase transitions
fermions in graphene. Nature 438, 197–200 (2005). [Link] and novel 2D emergent fermions. Nano Lett. 16, 6548 (2016).
doi.​org/​10.​1038/​natur​e04233 [Link]
 197 Page 38 of 42 Nano-Micro Lett. (2025) 17:197

68. S. Song, D.H. Keum, S. Cho, D. Perello, Y. Kim et al., Room Commun. 14, 3633 (2023). https:// ​ d oi. ​ o rg/ ​ 1 0. ​ 1 038/​
temperature semiconductor–metal transition of M ­ oTe2 thin s41467-​023-​39390-9
films engineered by strain. Nano Lett. 16, 188–193 (2016). 82. J. Jung, A.M. DaSilva, A.H. MacDonald, S. Adam, Origin
[Link] of band gaps in graphene on hexagonal boron nitride. Nat.
69. A.N. Morozovska, E.A. Eliseev, K.D. Stubbs, R. Vasudevan, Commun. 6, 6308 (2015). [Link]
Y. Kim et al., Phase diagrams of single-layer two-dimensional s7308
transition metal dichalcogenides: landau theory. Phys. Rev. B 83. B.H. Kim, J.Y. Kim, S.-J. Jeong, J.O. Hwang, D.H. Lee et al.,
101, 195424 (2020). [Link] Surface energy modification by spin-cast, large-area graphene
195424 film for block copolymer lithography. ACS Nano 4, 5464–
70. L. Ju, L. Wang, X. Li, S. Moon, M. Ozerov et al., Uncon- 5470 (2010). [Link]
ventional valley-dependent optical selection rules and landau 84. H. Su, Z. Xu, X. He, Y. Yao, X. Zheng et al., Surface energy
level mixing in bilayer graphene. Nat. Commun. 11, 2941 engineering of buried interface for highly stable perovskite
(2020). [Link] solar cells with efficiency over 25%. Adv. Mater. 36, 2306724
71. Z.-G. Chen, Z. Shi, W. Yang, X. Lu, Y. Lai et al., Observa- (2024). [Link]
tion of an intrinsic bandgap and Landau level renormaliza- 85. L. Cai, J. He, Q. Liu, T. Yao, L. Chen et al., Vacancy-induced
tion in graphene/boron-nitride heterostructures. Nat. Com- ferromagnetism of ­MoS2 nanosheets. J. Am. Chem. Soc. 137,
mun. 5, 4461 (2014). [Link] 2622–2627 (2015). [Link]
72. H. Yoo, S. Hong, S. On, H. Ahn, H.-K. Lee et al., Chemi- 86. S. Wang, G.-D. Lee, S. Lee, E. Yoon, J.H. Warner, Detailed
cal doping effects in multilayer M ­ oS2 and its application in atomic reconstruction of extended line defects in monolayer
complementary inverter. ACS Appl. Mater. Interfaces 10, ­MoS2. ACS Nano 10, 5419–5430 (2016). [Link]
23270–23276 (2018). [Link] 1021/​acsna​no.​6b016​73
73 87. A. Artaud, E. Mazaleyrat, G.D. Förster, C. Tonnoir, B. Gilles
73. A. Tarasov, S. Zhang, M. Tsai, P.M. Campbell, S. Graham et al., Depressions by stacking faults in nanorippled graphene
et al., Controlled doping of large-area trilayer ­MoS2 with on metals. 2D Mater. 7, 025016 (2020). [Link]
molecular reductants and oxidants. Adv. Mater. 27, 1175– 1088/​2053-​1583/​ab6a5e
1181 (2015). [Link] 88. M. Schleberger, J. Kotakoski, 2D material science: defect
74. H. Liu, Y. Liu, D. Zhu, Chemical doping of graphene. J. engineering by particle irradiation. Materials Basel 11, 1885
Mater. Chem. 21, 3335–3345 (2011). [Link] oi.​o rg/​1 0.​ (2018). [Link]
1039/​C0JM0​2922J 89. M. Telkhozhayeva, O. Girshevitz, Roadmap toward controlled
75. D.-H. Kang, J. Shim, S.K. Jang, J. Jeon, M.H. Jeon et al., ion beam-induced defects in 2D materials. Adv. Funct. Mater.
Controllable nondegenerate p-type doping of tungsten dis- 34, 2404615 (2024). [Link] oi.o​ rg/1​ 0.1​ 002/a​ dfm.2​ 02404​ 615
elenide by octadecyltrichlorosilane. ACS Nano 9, 1099– 90. Y. Chen, D. Lu, L. Kong, Q. Tao, L. Ma et al., Mobility
1107 (2015). [Link] enhancement of strained M ­ oS2 transistor on flat substrate.
76. J. Jiang, W. Feng, Y. Wen, L. Yin, H. Wang et al., Tuning ACS Nano 17, 14954–14962 (2023). [Link] oi.o​ rg/1​ 0.1​ 021/​
2D magnetism in cobalt monoxide nanosheets via in situ acsna​no.​3c036​26
nickel-doping. Adv. Mater. 35, 2301668 (2023). [Link] 91. P. Ajayan, P. Kim, K. Banerjee, Two-dimensional van der
org/​10.​1002/​adma.​20230​1668 Waals materials. Phys. Today 69, 38–44 (2016). [Link]
77. J. Dong, L. Zhang, X. Dai, F. Ding, The epitaxy of 2D org/​10.​1063/​PT.3.​3297
materials growth. Nat. Commun. 11, 5862 (2020). [Link] 92. D. Jariwala, T.J. Marks, M.C. Hersam, Mixed-dimensional
doi.​org/​10.​1038/​s41467-​020-​19752-3 van der waals heterostructures. Nat. Mater. 16, 170–181
78. X. Wang, M. Hossain, Z. Wei, L. Xie, Growth of two- (2017). [Link]
dimensional materials on hexagonal boron nitride (h-BN). 93. J. Miao, X. Liu, K. Jo, K. He, R. Saxena et al., Gate-tunable
Nanotechnology 30, 034003 (2019). [Link] oi.​o rg/​1 0.​ semiconductor heterojunctions from 2D/3D van der Waals
1088/​1361-​6528/​aaeb70 interfaces. Nano Lett. 20, 2907–2915 (2020). [Link]
79. K. Momeni, N. Sakib, D.E.C. Figueroa, S. Paul, C.Y. Chen 10.​1021/​acs.​nanol​ett.​0c007​41
et al., Combined experimental and computational insight 94. A. Varghese, A.H. Pandey, P. Sharma, Y. Yin, N.V. Medhekar
into the role of substrate in the synthesis of two-dimen- et al., Electrically controlled high sensitivity strain modula-
sional ­WSe2. ACS Appl. Mater. Interfaces 16, 6644 (2024). tion in M ­ oS2 field-effect transistors via a piezoelectric thin
[Link] film on silicon substrates. Nano Lett. 24, 8472–8480 (2024).
80. Q. Wang, N. Li, J. Tang, J. Zhu, Q. Zhang et al., Wafer- [Link]
scale highly oriented monolayer M ­ oS2 with large domain 95. A. Shekaari, M.R. Abolhassani, First-principles investigation
sizes. Nano Lett. 20, 7193–7199 (2020). [Link] of the thermodynamic properties of two-dimensional ­MoS2.
1021/​acs.​nanol​ett.​0c025​31 Chin. J. Phys. 55, 105–114 (2017). [Link]
81. J. Tang, Q. Wang, J. Tian, X. Li, N. Li et al., Low cjph.​2016.​09.​008
power flexible monolayer ­MoS 2 integrated circuits. Nat.

© The authors [Link]

Nano-Micro Lett. (2025) 17:197 Page 39 of 42 197

96. M. Ashton, K. Mathew, R.G. Hennig, S.B. Sinnott, Predicted 109. A. Patra, S. Hegde, V. Mahamiya, B. Chakraborty, S.M. Jeong
surface composition and thermodynamic stability of MXenes et al., Phase-engineered tin sulfides and their heterostructure
in solution. J. Phys. Chem. C 120, 3550–3556 (2016). [Link] with ­Ti3C2Tx MXene for all-solid-state flexible asymmetric
doi.​org/​10.​1021/​acs.​jpcc.​5b118​87 supercapacitors. ACS Appl. Nano Mater. 7, 11666–11679
97. P.V. Pham, S.C. Bodepudi, K. Shehzad, Y. Liu, Y. Xu et al., (2024). [Link]
2D heterostructures for ubiquitous electronics and optoelec- 110. W. Jin, G. Zhang, H. Wu, L. Yang, W. Zhang et al., Room-
tronics: principles, opportunities, and challenges. Chem. Rev. temperature spin-valve devices based on ­Fe3GaTe2/MoS2/
122, 6514–6613 (2022). [Link] rg/1​ 0.1​ 021/a​ cs.c​ hemre​ v.​ Fe3GaTe2 2D van der Waals heterojunctions. Nanoscale 15,
1c007​35 5371 (2023). [Link]
98. A.K. Geim, I.V. Grigorieva, Van der waals heterostructures. 111. N. Kumar, P.K. Sachdeva, R. Gupta, C. Bera, Theoretical
Nature 499, 419–425 (2013). [Link] design of highly efficient 2D thermoelectric device based
e12385 on Janus MoSSe and graphene heterostructure. ACS Appl.
99. N. Goel, N. Utkarsha, A. Kushwaha, M. Kwoka, R. Kumar Energy Mater. 5, 9581–9586 (2022). [Link]
et al., Mixed-dimensional van der Waals heterostructure ena- acsaem.​2c012​04
bled gas sensors: fundamentals and applications. J. Mater. 112. S.S. Yarajena, R. Biswas, V. Raghunathan, A.K. Naik,
Chem. A 12, 5642–5667 (2024). [Link] Quantitative probe for in-plane piezoelectric coupling in
D3TA0​7949J 2D materials. Sci. Rep. 11, 7066 (2021). [Link]
100. K.S. Novoselov, A. Mishchenko, A. Carvalho, A.H. Castro, 10.​1038/​s41598-​021-​86252-9
Neto 2D materials and van der Waals heterostructures. Sci- 113. D. Sharma, R. Kumar, A. Pal, N. Sakhuja, N. Bhat, Develop-
ence (2016). [Link] ment of a smart and ultrafast flexible humidity sensor using
101. S. Wang, X. Liu, M. Xu, L. Liu, D. Yang et al., Two-dimen- the 0D/2D Au/GeS heterostructure for human respiration
sional devices and integration towards the silicon lines. rate monitoring. ACS Appl. Electron. Mater. 5, 3162–3171
Nat. Mater. 21, 1225–1239 (2022). [Link] 0.​1038/​ (2023). [Link]
s41563-​022-​01383-2 114. C. Gilardi, R.K.A. Bennett, Y. Yoon, E. Pop, H.S.P. Wong
102. D. Akinwande, C. Huyghebaert, C.H. Wang, M.I. Serna, S. et al., Extended scale length theory for low-dimensional field-
Goossens et al., Graphene and two-dimensional materials for effect transistors. IEEE Trans. Electron Devices 69, 5302–
silicon technology. Nature 573, 507–518 (2019). [Link] 5309 (2022). [Link]
org/​10.​1038/​s41586-​019-​1573-9 115. I. Aberg, J.L. Hoyt, Hole transport in UTB MOSFETs in
103. S. Das, A. Sebastian, E. Pop, C.J. McClellan, A.D. Franklin strained-Si directly on insulator with strained-Si thickness
et al., Transistors based on two-dimensional materials for less than 5 nm. IEEE Electron Device Lett. 26, 661–663
future integrated circuits. Nat. Electron. 4, 786–799 (2021). (2005). [Link]
[Link] 116. C.D. English, K.K.H. Smithe, R.L. Xu, E. Pop, Approach-
104. L. Yin, R. Cheng, J. Ding, J. Jiang, Y. Hou et al., Two-dimen- ing ballistic transport in monolayer ­MoS2 transistors with
sional semiconductors and transistors for future integrated self-aligned 10 nm top gates, in 2016 IEEE International
circuits. ACS Nano 18, 7739–7768 (2024). [Link] Electron Devices Meeting (IEDM), San Francisco, CA, 2016,
10.​1021/​acsna​no.​3c109​00 pp. 5.6.1–5.6.4. [Link] oi.o​ rg/1​ 0.1​ 109/I​ EDM.2​ 016.7​ 83835​ 5
105. C. Fan, J. Yang, W. Ni, J. Wu, X. Liu et al., Real-time and 117. L. Yang, A. Charnas, G. Qiu, Y.M. Lin, C.C. Lu et al., How
wireless transmission of a nitrogen-doped ­Ti3C2Tx wearable important is the metal–semiconductor contact for Schottky
gas sensor for efficient detection of food spoilage and ammo- barrier transistors: a case study on few-layer black phospho-
nia leakage. ACS Sensors 9, 4870–4878 (2024). [Link] rus? ACS Omega 2, 4173–4179 (2017). [Link]
org/​10.​1021/​acsse​nsors.​4c013​94 1021/​acsom​ega.​7b006​34
106. P. Fathi-Hafshejani, N. Azam, L. Wang, M.A. Kuroda, M.C. 118. W. Li, X. Gong, Z. Yu, L. Ma, W. Sun et al., Approaching
Hamilton et al., Two-dimensional-material-based field-effect the quantum limit in two-dimensional semiconductor con-
transistor biosensor for detecting COVID-19 Virus (SARS- tacts. Nature 613, 274–279 (2023). [Link]
CoV-2). ACS Nano 15, 11461 (2021). [Link] s41586-​022-​05431-4
1021/​acsna​no.​1c011​88 119. L. Tu, R. Cao, X. Wang, Y. Chen, S. Wu et al., Ultrasensitive
107. P. Ji, S. Yang, Y. Wang, K. Li, Y. Wang et al., High-per- negative capacitance phototransistors. Nat. Commun. 11, 101
formance photodetector based on an interface engineering- (2020). [Link]
assisted graphene/silicon Schottky junction. Microsyst. Nano- 120. M. Yu, C. Tan, Y. Yin, J. Tang, X. Gao et al., Integrated
eng. 8, 9 (2022). [Link] oi.o​ rg/1​ 0.1​ 038/s​ 41378-0​ 21-0​ 0332-4 2D multi-fin field-effect transistors. Nat. Commun. 15, 3622
108. L. Kong, G. Li, Q. Su, X. Tan, X. Zhang et al., Polarization- (2024). [Link]
sensitive, self-powered, and broadband semimetal M ­ oTe2/ 121. M.T. Bohr, I.A. Young, CMOS scaling trends and beyond.
MoS2 van der Waals heterojunction for photodetection and IEEE Micro 37, 20–29 (2017). [Link]
imaging. ACS Appl. Mater. Interfaces 15, 43135 (2023). 2017.​42413​47
[Link] 122. P. Schuddinck, O. Zografos, P. Weckx, P. Matagne, S. Sarkarc
et al., Device-, circuit- & block-level evaluation of CFET
 197 Page 40 of 42 Nano-Micro Lett. (2025) 17:197

in a 4 track library, 2019 Symposium on VLSI Technology, Mater. Chem. A 5, 8343–8351 (2017). [Link]
Kyoto, Japan, 2019, pp. T204–T205. [Link] 1039/​C7TA0​1858D
23919/​VLSIT.​2019.​87765​13 136. N. Choudhary, C. Li, H.-S. Chung, J. Moore, J. Thomas et al.,
123. P.J. Jeon, J.S. Kim, J.Y. Lim, Y. Cho, A. Pezeshki et al., Low High-performance one-body core/shell nanowire superca-
power consumption complementary inverters with n-MoS2 pacitor enabled by conformal growth of capacitive 2D ­WS2
and p-WSe2 dichalcogenide nanosheets on glass for logic and layers. ACS Nano 10, 10726 (2016). [Link]
light-emitting diode circuits. ACS Appl. Mater. Interfaces 7, acsna​no.​6b061​11
22333 (2015). [Link] 137. Q. Mahmood, M.G. Kim, S. Yun, S.-M. Bak, X.-Q. Yang
124. M. Liu, J. Niu, G. Yang, K. Chen, W. Lu et al., Large-scale et al., Unveiling surface redox charge storage of interacting
ultrathin channel nanosheet-stacked CFET based on CVD two-dimensional heteronanosheets in hierarchical architec-
1L ­MoS2/WSe2. Adv. Electron. Mater. 9, 2200722 (2023). tures. Nano Lett. 15, 2269 (2015). [Link]
[Link] nl504​200y
125. H. Son, H. Choi, J. Jeon, Y.J. Kim, S. Choi et al., Comple- 138. D. Akinwande, N. Petrone, J. Hone, Two-dimensional flexible
mentary driving between 2D heterostructures and surface nanoelectronics. Nat. Commun. 5, 5678 (2014). [Link]
functionalization for surpassing binary logic devices. ACS org/​10.​1038/​ncomm​s6678
Appl. Mater. Interfaces 13, 8692 (2021). [Link] 139. R. Kumar, N. Goel, M. Hojamberdiev, M. Kumar, Transi-
1021/​acsami.​0c177​39 tion metal dichalcogenides-based flexible gas sensors. Sens.
126. J. Jiang, K. Parto, W. Cao, K. Banerjee, Ultimate monolithic- Actuat. A Phys. 303, 111875 (2020). [Link]
3D integration with 2D materials: rationale, prospects, and 1016/j.​sna.​2020.​111875
challenges. IEEE J. Electron Devices Soc. 7, 878–887 (2019). 140. N. Sakhuja, R. Kumar, P. Katare, N. Bhat, Structure-driven,
[Link] flexible, multilayered, paper-based pressure sensor for human–
127. J. Jiang, J. Kang, W. Cao, X. Xie, H. Zhang et al., Graphene- machine interfacing. ACS Sustain. Chem. Eng. 10, 9697–9706
based tunable superconducting microwave resonators. Nano (2022). [Link]
Lett. 17, 1482 (2017). [Link] 141. E.S. Polsen, D.Q. McNerny, B. Viswanath, S.W. Pattinson, A.
6b045​16 John-Hart, High-speed roll-to-roll manufacturing of graphene
128. S. Goossens, G. Navickaite, C. Monasterio, S. Gupta, J.J. using a concentric tube CVD reactor. Sci. Rep. 5, 10257
Piqueras et al., Broadband image sensor array based on gra- (2015). [Link]
phene–CMOS integration. Nat. Photonics 11, 366 (2017). 142. H. Medina, J.G. Li, T.Y. Su, Y.W. Lan, S.H. Lee et al., Wafer-
[Link] scale growth of W ­ Se2 monolayers toward phase-engineered
129. B. Yao, S.W. Huang, Y. Liu, A.K. Vinod, C. Choi et al., Gate- hybrid ­WOx/WSe2 films with sub-ppb ­NOx Gas sensing by a
tunable frequency combs in graphene-nitride microresona- low-temperature plasma-assisted selenization process. Chem.
tors. Nature 558, 410–414 (2018). [Link] Mater. 29, 1587–1598 (2017). [Link]
s41586-​018-​0216-x chemm​ater.​6b044​67
130. C. Qin, K. Jia, Q. Li, T. Tan, X. Wang et al., Electrically 143. M. Derakhshi, S. Daemi, P. Shahini, A. Habibzadeh, E.
controllable laser frequency combs in graphene-fibre micro- Mostafavi et al., Two-dimensional nanomaterials beyond
resonators. Light Sci. Appl. 9, 185 (2020). [Link] graphene for biomedical applications. J. Funct. Biomater.
1038/​s41377-​020-​00419-z 13, 27 (2022). [Link]
131. H. Zhou, S. Li, K.W. Ang, Y.W. Zhang, Recent advances in 144. N. Mohanty, V. Berry, Graphene-based single-bacterium res-
in-memory computing: exploring memristor and memtran- olution biodevice and DNA transistor: interfacing graphene
sistor arrays with 2D materials. Nano-Micro Lett. 16, 121 derivatives with nanoscale and microscale biocomponents.
(2024). [Link] Nano Lett. 8, 4469–4476 (2008). [Link]
132. R. Ge, X. Wu, M. Kim, J. Shi, S. Sonde et al., Atomristor: nl802​412n
nonvolatile resistance switching in atomic sheets of transi- 145. L. Lipani, B.G.R. Dupont, F. Doungmene, F. Marken, R.M.
tion metal dichalcogenides. Nano Lett. 18, 434–441 (2018). Tyrrell et al., Non-invasive, transdermal, path-selective and
[Link] specific glucose monitoring via a graphene-based platform.
133. B. Tang, H. Veluri, Y. Li, Z.G. Yu, M. Waqar et al., Wafer- Nat. Nanotech. 13, 504–511 (2018). [Link]
scale solution-processed 2D material analog resistive mem- s41565-​018-​0112-4
ory array for memory-based computing. Nat. Commun. 13, 146. J. Kim, M.S. Chae, S.M. Lee, D. Jeong, B.C. Lee et al.,
3037 (2022). [Link] Wafer-scale high-resolution patterning of reduced graphene
134. M. Sivan, Y. Li, H. Veluri, Y. Zhao, B. Tang et al., All ­WSe2 oxide films for detection of low concentration biomarkers in
1T1R resistive RAM cell for future monolithic 3D embedded plasma. Sci. Rep. 6, 31276 (2016). [Link]
memory integration. Nat. Commun. 10, 5201 (2019). [Link] srep3​1276
doi.​org/​10.​1038/​s41467-​019-​13176-4 147. P. Li, Z. Zhang, Self-powered 2D material-based pH sensor
135. L. Zhu, C.K. Nuo Peh, T. Zhu, Y.-F. Lim, G.W. Ho, Bifunc- and photodetector driven by monolayer M ­ oSe2 piezoelectric
tional 2D-on-2D M ­ oO3 nanobelt/Ni(OH)2 nanosheets for nanogenerator. ACS Appl. Mater. Interfaces 12, 58132–
supercapacitor-driven electrochromic energy storage. J. 58139 (2020). [Link]

© The authors [Link]

Nano-Micro Lett. (2025) 17:197 Page 41 of 42 197

148. Y. Wang, T.H. Kim, S. Fouladdel, Z. Zhang, P. Soni et al., 161. S. Das, A. Wali, S. Kundu, A.J. Arnold, G. Zhao et al.,
PD-L1 expression in circulating tumor cells increases during Satisfiability attack-resistant camouflaged two-dimensional
radio(chemo)therapy and indicates poor prognosis in non- heterostructure devices. ACS Nano 15, 3453–3467 (2021).
small cell lung cancer. Sci. Rep. 9, 566 (2019). [Link] [Link]
org/​10.​1038/​s41598-​018-​36096-7 162. X. Liu, M.C. Hersam, 2D materials for quantum informa-
149. C. Choi, J. Leem, M.S. Kim, A. Taqieddin, C. Cho tion science. Nat. Rev. Mater. 4, 669–684 (2019). [Link]
et al., Curved neuromorphic image sensor array using a doi.​org/​10.​1038/​s41578-​019-​0136-x
­MoS2-organic heterostructure inspired by the human visual 163. A. Liu, X. Zhang, Z. Liu, Y. Li, X. Peng et al., The road-
recognition system. Nat. Commun. 11, 5934 (2020). [Link] map of 2D materials and devices toward chips. Nano-
doi.​org/​10.​1038/​s41467-​020-​19806-6 Micro Lett. 16, 119 (2024). https:// ​ d oi. ​ o rg/ ​ 1 0. ​ 1 007/​
150. X. Chen, Y.J. Park, M. Kang, S.K. Kang, J. Koo et al., CVD- s40820-​023-​01273-5
grown monolayer M ­ oS2 in bioabsorbable electronics and 164. B. Trauzettel, D.V. Bulaev, D. Loss, G. Burkard, Spin
biosensors. Nat. Commun. 9, 1690 (2018). [Link] qubits in graphene quantum dots. Nat. Phys. 3, 192–196
10.​1038/​s41467-​018-​03956-9 (2007). [Link]
151. J. Lim, S. Lee, J. Kim, J. Hong, S. Lim et al., Hybrid 165. A. Kormányos, V. Zólyomi, V.I. Fal’ko, G. Burkard, Tunable
graphene electrode for the diagnosis and treatment of epi- Berry curvature and valley and spin Hall effect in bilayer
lepsy in free-moving animal models. npg Asia Mater 15, ­MoS2. Phys. Rev. B 98, 035408 (2018). [Link]
7 (2023). [Link] 1103/​PhysR​evB.​98.​035408
152. P.A. Merolla, J.V. Arthur, R. Alvarez-Icaza, A.S. Cassidy, 166. D.M. Kennes, M. Claassen, L. Xian, A. Georges, A.J. Millis
J. Sawada et al., Artificial brains. A million spiking-neuron et al., Moiré heterostructures as a condensed-matter quantum
integrated circuit with a scalable communication network simulator. Nat. Phys. 17, 155–163 (2021). [Link]
and interface. Science 345, 668–673 (2014). [Link] 1038/​s41567-​020-​01154-3
10.​1126/​scien​ce.​12546​42 167. K. Parto, S.I. Azzam, K. Banerjee, G. Moody, Defect and
153. M. Davies, N. Srinivasa, T.H. Lin, G. Chinya, Y. Cao et al., strain engineering of monolayer ­WSe2 enables site-controlled
Loihi: a neuromorphic manycore processor with on-chip single-photon emission up to 150 K. Nat. Commun. 12, 3585
learning. IEEE Micro 38, 82–99 (2018). [Link] (2021). [Link]
1109/​MM.​2018.​11213​0359 168. A. Gottscholl, M. Diez, V. Soltamov, C. Kasper, D. Krauße
154. S.B. Furber, F. Galluppi, S. Temple, L.A. Plana, The SpiN- et al., Defect and strain engineering of monolayer ­WSe2
Naker project. Proc. IEEE 102, 652–665 (2014). [Link] enables site-controlled single-photon emission up to 150
org/​10.​1109/​JPROC.​2014.​23046​38 K. Nat. Commun. 12, 3585 (2021). [Link]
155. I.A. Basheer, M. Hajmeer, Artificial neural networks: fun- s41467-​021-​23709-5
damentals, computing, design, and application. J. Micro- 169. N. Mathur, A. Mukherjee, X. Gao, J. Luo, B.A. McCullian
biol. Methods 43, 3–31 (2000). [Link] oi.​o rg/​1 0.​1 016/​ et al., Excited-state spin-resonance spectroscopy of V defect
S0167-​7012(00)​00201-3 centers in hexagonal boron nitride. Nat. Commun. 13, 3233
156. L. Wang, W. Liao, S.L. Wong, Z.G. Yu, S. Li et al., Arti- (2022). [Link]
ficial synapses based on multiterminal memtransistors for 170. M.R. Islam, S. Afroj, N. Karim, Scalable production of 2D
neuromorphic application. Adv. Funct. Mater. 29, 1901106 material heterostructure textiles for high-performance wear-
(2019). [Link] able supercapacitors. ACS Nano 17, 18481–18493 (2023).
157. A. Sebastian, A. Pannone, S. Subbulakshmi Radhakrishnan, [Link]
S. Das, Gaussian synapses for probabilistic neural net- 171. P. Raghavan, J.H. Ahn, M. Shelke, The role of 2D mate-
works. Nat. Commun. 10, 4199 (2019). [Link] rial families in energy harvesting: an editorial overview. J.
1038/​s41467-​019-​12035-6 Mater. Res. 37, 3857–3864 (2022). [Link]
158. L. Liu, Z. Cheng, B. Jiang, Y. Liu, Y. Zhang et al., Optoelec- s43578-​022-​00721-z
tronic artificial synapses based on two-dimensional transi- 172. J. Wang, V. Malgras, Y. Sugahara, Y. Yamauchi, Electro-
tional-metal trichalcogenide. ACS Appl. Mater. Interfaces chemical energy storage performance of 2D nanoarchitec-
13, 30797–30805 (2021). [Link] tured hybrid materials. Nat. Commun. 12, 3563 (2021).
1c032​02 [Link]
159. Y. Wang, H. Tang, Y. Xie, X. Chen, S. Ma et al., An in- 173. J. Wu, Understanding the electric double-layer structure,
memory computing architecture based on two-dimensional capacitance, and charging dynamics. Chem. Rev. 122, 10821–
semiconductors for multiply-accumulate operations. 10859 (2022). [Link]
Nat. Commun. 12, 3347 (2021). [Link] 174. J. Yun, I. Echols, P. Flouda, Y. Chen, S. Wang et al., Layer-
s41467-​021-​23719-3 by-layer assembly of reduced graphene oxide and MXene
160. S. Das, A. Dodda, S. Das, biomimetic 2D transistor for nanosheets for wire-shaped flexible supercapacitors. ACS
audiomorphic computing. Nat. Commun. 10, 3450 (2019). Appl. Mater. Interfaces 13, 14068–14076 (2021). [Link]
[Link] org/​10.​1021/​acsami.​0c196​19
 197 Page 42 of 42 Nano-Micro Lett. (2025) 17:197

175. H. Hwang, H. Kim, J. Cho, M ­ oS2 nanoplates consisting of 182. T. Tan, Z. Yuan, H. Zhang, G. Yan, S. Zhou et al., Mul-
disordered graphene-like layers for high rate lithium battery tispecies and individual gas molecule detection using
anode materials. Nano Lett. 11, 4826–4830 (2011). [Link] Stokes solitons in a graphene over-modal microresonator.
doi.​org/​10.​1021/​nl202​675f Nat. Commun. 12, 6716 (2021). [Link]
176. X. Xie, Z. Ao, D. Su, J. Zhang, G. Wang, ­MoS2/graphene s41467-​021-​26740-8
composite anodes with enhanced performance for sodium- 183. Y. Guo, Z. Li, N. An, Y. Guo, Y. Wang et al., A monolithic
ion batteries: the role of the two-dimensional heterointerface. graphene-functionalized microlaser for multispecies gas
Adv. Funct. Mater. 25, 1393–1403 (2015). [Link] oi.​org/​10.​ detection. Adv. Mater. 34, 2207777 (2022). [Link]
1002/​adfm.​20140​4078 10.​1002/​adma.​20220​7777
177. R. Kumar, N. Goel, D.K. Jarwal, Y. Hu, J. Zhang et al., Strate- 184. J. Mao, Y. Yu, L. Wang, X. Zhang, Y. Wang et al., Ultrafast,
gic review on chemical vapor deposition technology-derived broadband photodetector based on ­MoSe2/silicon heterojunc-
2D material nanostructures for room-temperature gas sensors. tion with vertically standing layered structure using graphene
J. Mater. Chem. C 11, 774–801 (2022). [Link] as transparent electrode. Adv. Sci. 3, 1600018 (2016). [Link]
1039/​D2TC0​4188J doi.​org/​10.​1002/​advs.​20160​0018
178. R. Kumar, X. Liu, J. Zhang, M. Kumar, Room-temperature 185. M. Long, E. Liu, P. Wang, A. Gao, H. Xia et al., Broadband
gas sensors under photoactivation: from metal oxides to 2D photovoltaic detectors based on an atomically thin hetero-
materials. Nano-Micro Lett. 12, 164 (2020). [Link] structure. Nano Lett. 16, 2254–2259 (2016). [Link]
10.​1007/​s40820-​020-​00503-4 10.​1021/​acs.​nanol​ett.​5b045​38
179. S.M. Mortazavi Zanjani, M. Holt, M.M. Sadeghi, S. Rahimi, 186. Q. Qiu, Z. Huang, Photodetectors of 2D materials from ultra-
D. Akinwande, 3D integrated monolayer graphene–Si CMOS violet to terahertz waves. Adv. Mater. 33, 2008126 (2021).
RF gas sensor platform. NPJ 2D Mater. Appl. 1, 36 (2017). [Link]
[Link] 187. T.F. Schranghamer, S.P. Stepanoff, N. Trainor, J.M. Redwing,
180. B.R. Goldsmith, L. Locascio, Y. Gao, M. Lerner, A. Walker D.E. Wolfe et al., Ultra-scaled phototransistors based on mon-
et al., Digital biosensing by foundry-fabricated graphene olayer ­MoS2. Device 1, 100102 (2023). [Link]
sensors. Sci. Rep. 9, 434 (2019). [Link] 1016/j.​device.​2023.​100102
s41598-​019-​38700-w 188. W. Yu, Z. Dong, H. Mu, G. Ren, X. He et al., Wafer-scale
181. N. An, T. Tan, Z. Peng, C. Qin, Z. Yuan et al., Electrically synthesis of 2D dirac heterostructures for self-driven, fast,
tunable four-wave-mixing in graphene heterogeneous fiber for broadband photodetectors. ACS Nano 16, 12922–12929
individual gas molecule detection. Nano Lett. 20, 6473–6480 (2022). [Link]
(2020). [Link]
Publisher’s Note Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to
jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.

© The authors [Link]