Graphene's success has shown that it is possible to create stable, single and few-atom-thick layers of van der Waals materials, and also that these materials can exhibit fascinating and technologically useful properties. Here we review the state-of-the-art of 2D materials beyond graphene. Initially, we will outline the different chemical classes of 2D materials and discuss the various strategies to prepare single-layer, few-layer, and multilayer assembly materials in solution, on substrates, and on the wafer scale. Additionally, we present an experimental guide for identifying and characterizing single-layer-thick materials, as well as outlining emerging techniques that yield both local and global information. We describe the differences that occur in the electronic structure between the bulk and the single layer and discuss various methods of tuning their electronic properties by manipulating the surface. Finally, we highlight the properties and advantages of single-, few-, and many-layer 2D materials in field-effect transistors, spin- and valley-tronics, thermoelectrics, and topological insulators, among many other applications.

Monolayer van der Waals (vdW) magnets provide an exciting opportunity for exploring two-dimensional (2D) magnetism for scientific and technological advances, but the intrinsic ferromagnetism has only been observed at low temperatures. Here, we report the observation of room temperature ferromagnetism in manganese selenide (MnSe ) films grown by molecular beam epitaxy (MBE). Magnetic and structural characterization provides strong evidence that, in the monolayer limit, the ferromagnetism originates from a vdW manganese diselenide (MnSe) monolayer, while for thicker films it could originate from a combination of vdW MnSe and/or interfacial magnetism of α-MnSe(111). Magnetization measurements of monolayer MnSe films on GaSe and SnSe epilayers show ferromagnetic ordering with a large saturation magnetization of ∼4 Bohr magnetons per Mn, which is consistent with the density functional theory calculations predicting ferromagnetism in monolayer 1T-MnSe. Growing MnSe films on GaSe up to a high thickness (∼40 nm) produces α-MnSe(111) and an enhanced magnetic moment (∼2×) compared to the monolayer MnSe samples. Detailed structural characterization by scanning transmission electron microscopy (STEM), scanning tunneling microscopy (STM), and reflection high energy electron diffraction (RHEED) reveals an abrupt and clean interface between GaSe(0001) and α-MnSe(111). In particular, the structure measured by STEM is consistent with the presence of a MnSe monolayer at the interface. These results hold promise for potential applications in energy efficient information storage and processing.

Local manipulation of electric fields at the atomic scale may enable new methods for quantum transport and creates new opportunities for field control of ferromagnetism and spin-based quantum information processing in semiconductors. We used a scanning tunneling microscope to position charged arsenic (As) vacancies in the gallium arsenide 110 [GaAs(110)] surface with atomic precision, thereby tuning the local electrostatic field experienced by single manganese (Mn) acceptors. The effects of this field are quantified by measuring the shift of an acceptor state within the band gap of GaAs. Experiments with varying tip-induced band-bending conditions suggest a large binding energy for surface-layer Mn, which is reduced by direct Coulomb repulsion when the As vacancy is moved nearby.

Single tetracyanoethyelene (TCNE) molecules on Cu(111) are reversibly switched among five states by applying voltage pulses with the tip of a scanning tunneling microscope. A pronounced Kondo resonance in tunneling spectroscopy indicates that one of the states is magnetic. Side bands of the Kondo resonance appear at energies which correspond to inter- and intramolecular vibrational modes. Density functional theory suggests that molecular deformation changes the occupancy in TCNE's molecular orbitals, thus producing the magnetic state.

A scanning tunneling microscope was used to study the ionization of single Mn acceptors in GaAs(110). The ionization state switches when the GaAs valence band is bent across a Mn acceptor level. This produces a ringlike feature in STM images, whose diameter depends on the tunneling conditions and distance to charged arsenic vacancies. By varying the latter, we could tune the ionization switching, as well as quantify the contributions from tip- and vacancy-induced band bending.