The two-dimensional (2D) magnet, a long-standing missing member in the family of 2D functional materials, is promising for next-generation information technology. The recent experimental discovery of 2D magnetic ordering in CrI3, Cr2Ge2Te6, VSe2, and Fe3GeTe2 has stimulated intense research activities to expand the scope of 2D magnets. This review covers the essential progress on 2D magnets, with an emphasis on the current understanding of the magnetic exchange interaction, the databases of 2D magnets, and the modification strategies for modulation of magnetism. We will address a large number of 2D intrinsic magnetic materials, including binary transition metal halogenides; chalogenides; carbides; nitrides; oxides; borides; silicides; MXene; ternary transition metal compounds CrXTe3, MPX3, Fe-Ge-Te, MBi2Te4, and MXY (M = transition metal; X = O, S, Se, Te, N; Y = Cl, Br, I); f-state magnets; p-state magnets; and organic magnets. Their electronic structure, magnetic moment, Curie temperature, and magnetic anisotropy energy will be presented. According to the specific 2D magnets, the underlying direct, superexchange, double exchange, super-superexchange, extended superexchange, and multi-intermediate double exchange interactions will be described. In addition, we will also highlight the effective strategies to manipulate the interatomic exchange mechanism to improve the Curie temperature of 2D magnets, such as chemical functionalization, isoelectronic substitution, alloying, strain engineering, defect engineering, applying electronic/magnetic field, interlayer coupling, carrier doping, optical controlling, and intercalation. We hope this review will contribute to understanding the magnetic exchange interaction of existing 2D magnets, developing unprecedented 2D magnets with desired properties, and offering new perspectives in this rapidly expanding field.

MXenes with versatile chemistry and superior electrical conductivity are prevalent candidate materials for energy storage and catalysts. Inspired by recent experiments of hybridizing MXenes with carbon materials, here we theoretically design a series of heterostructures of N-doped graphene supported by MXene monolayers as bifunctional electrocatalysts for the oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) and hydrogen evolution reaction (HER). Our first-principles calculations show that the graphitic sheet on V2C and Mo2C MXenes are highly active with an ORR overpotential down to 0.36 V and reaction free energies for the HER approaching zero, both with low kinetic barriers. Such outstanding catalytic activities originate from the electronic coupling between the graphitic sheet and the MXene, and can be correlated with the pz band center of surface carbon atoms and the work function of the heterostructures. Our findings screen a novel form of highly active electrocatalysts by taking advantage of the fast charge transfer kinetics and strong interfacial coupling of MXenes, and illuminate a universal mechanism for modulating the catalytic properties of two-dimensional hybrid materials.

Composites of transition metal and carbon-based materials are promising bifunctional catalysts for the oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) and oxygen evolution reaction (OER), and are widely used in rechargeable metal-air batteries. However, the mechanism of their enhanced bicatalytic activities remains elusive. Herein, we construct N-doped graphene supported by Co(111) and Fe(110) substrates as bifunctional catalysts for ORR and OER in alkaline media. First-principles calculations show that these heterostructures possess a large number of active sites for ORR and OER with overpotentials comparable to those of noble metal benchmark catalysts. The catalytic activity is modulated by the coupling strength between graphene and the metal substrates, as well as the charge distribution in the graphitic sheet, which is delicately mediated by N dopants. These theoretical results uncover the key parameters that govern the bicatalytic properties of hybrid materials and help prescribe the principles for designing multifunctional electrocatalysts of high performance.

Unveiling the genuine active sites of carbonate hydroxide (CH) under realistic operating conditions holds the key to its practical applications. Here, we reveal that the irreversible redox of Co cations in CH at the early stage of cyclic voltammetry (CV) cycling generates oxygen vacancies-enriched NiCo layered double hydroxide (LDH) nanosheets. Theoretical calculations validate the optimal redox reaction energy barrier of the unsaturated 5-coordinated Co sites. Such an electrochemical coordination-engineering strategy greatly inspires the rational design of high-performance electrode materials.

Monolayer blue phosphorus has recently been synthesized by molecular beam epitaxial growth on Au(111) substrate. It is intriguing to compare this new 2D phase of phosphorus with phosphorene as to both fundamental properties and application prospects. Here, first-principles calculations are carried out to explore the adsorption behaviors of environmental gas molecules on monolayer blue phosphorus, including O, NO, SO, NH, HO, NO, CO, HS, CO, and N, and address their effects on the electronic properties of the material. Our calculations show that O is prone to dissociate and tends to chemisorb on the blue phosphorus sheet, phenomena which has also been observed in phosphorene. The other gas molecules can stably physisorb on monolayer blue phosphorus, showing different interaction strengths with the monolayer. These molecules induce distinct modifications to the band gap, carrier effective mass, and work function, which also depends on the molecular coverage. The responses of the electronic properties are subject to the charge transfer as well as alignment of the frontier molecular orbital levels of the gaseous molecules and band edges of the parent sheet. These results suggest that monolayer blue phosphorus is a promising candidate for novel gas sensors.