Epitaxial growth of hetero-nanostructures based on ultrathin two-dimensional nanosheets

Ultrathin two-dimensional (2D) nanosheets, such as graphene and MoS2, which are demonstrated to be fundamentally and technologically important in many applications, have emerged as a unique family of nanomaterials in chemistry and material science over the past decade. The single-crystalline nature and ultrathin thickness of these 2D nanosheets make them ideal templates for the epitaxial deposition of nanostructures, which offer many possibilities to engineer microsized 2D p-n hetero-junctions at atomic/nanometer scale. This Perspective aims to provide information on the epitaxial growth of hetero-nanostructures based on ultrathin 2D nanosheets. Various methods for the epitaxial growth of nanostructures based on ultrathin 2D nanosheets or in situ growth of lateral or vertical epitaxial 2D semiconductor hetero-nanostructures are introduced. The advantages of these 2D epitaxial hetero-nanostructures for some applications, such as electronics, optoelectronics, and electrocatalysis, are also presented. On the basis of the current status of 2D epitaxial hetero-nanostructures, the future prospects of this promising area are discussed.