Fluorination of Bidimensional Materials

Fluorination has emerged as a powerful strategy for tailoring the structure, chemistry, and electronic properties of two-dimensional (2D) materials beyond conventional surface functionalization. This review highlights fluorination chemistry as a versatile toolbox for the controlled design of layered materials, with particular emphasis on synthesis approaches, reaction mechanisms, and structural transformations of graphene and carbon materials, hexagonal boron nitride (h-BN), transition-metal dichalcogenides (TMDs), MXenes, layered double hydroxides (LDHs), and layered metal oxides. Various fluorination methods, including direct fluorination using F₂, XeF₂ treatment, HF-based processes, plasma-assisted fluorination, electrochemical routes, hydrothermal/solvothermal methods, and polymer-mediated topochemical fluorination, are critically discussed regarding their mechanisms, advantages, limitations, and ability to control fluorine content, bonding configuration, defect formation, and phase evolution. Finally, current challenges related to fluorine control, scalability, environmental impact, and advanced characterization are discussed. Fluorination-defluorination chemistry is thus presented as a promising platform for atomic-scale engineering of 2D materials.