Six Decades of Research on 2D Materials: Progress, Dead Ends, and New Horizons

The present paper guides the reader through six decades of research on 2D materials. It is shown that after a slow start and only little activity over many years, since 2004 the exploration of 2D materials advanced at an enormous pace. Our discussion focuses on the use of 2D materials for electronics and indicates that part of them are attractive for electronic devices. While some of the high expectations raised in what we call the golden era of graphene did not fulfil, certain electronic applications for 2D materials that originally were not on the agenda gain increasing attention now. Examples are stacked-channel 2D nanosheet transistors and 2D memristive devices.