Synthesis of 2D-Materials on Liquid Metal Catalysts

Two-dimensional materials (2DMs) such as graphene, hexagonal boron nitride, silicene and others, are currently amongst the most intensively studied classes of materials that hold great promise for future applications in many technological areas. However, the main hurdle against practical utilization of 2DMs is the lack of effective mass production techniques to satisfy the growing qualitative and quantitative demands for scientific and technological applications.

The current state-of-the-art synthesis method of 2DMs involves the dissociative adsorption of gas-phase precursors on a solid catalyst. This process is slow by nature, inefficient, and environmentally unfriendly. Our analysis and recent experimental evidence suggest that by using liquid metal catalysts (LMCats) instead, one can bypass multiple of these hurdles at once. This technique bears the prospect of continuous 2DM production with unprecedented quality and production speed.