Inorganic Graphene Analogs

In the last four to five years, there has been a great resurgence of research on two-dimensional inorganic materials, partly because of the impetus received from graphene research. Unlike graphene, which is a gap-less material, most inorganic layered materials are semiconductors or insulators. Some of them, as exemplified by MoS 2 , exhibit unexpected properties, not unlike graphene, with possible applications. Thus, layered metal chalcogenides are being explored intensely, and MoS 2 is emerging as a wonder material. In this article, we present the synthesis and properties of nanosheets composing single or few layers of these fascinating materials. Besides metal chalcogenides, boron nitride, borocarbonitrides (B x C y N z ), metal oxides, and metal-organic frameworks are also discussed.