Self-organized growth and self-assembly of nanostructures on 2D materials

Abstract

Two-dimensional (2D) composite materials have gained much interest, and their synthesis and characterization have been intensively investigated to fully exploit the new functionalities and realize their potential applications. Among the various approaches to prepare heterostructures based on 2D materials, the process of self-organization between different materials is widely employed to obtain a wide range of ordered heterostructures. In this review article, we introduce notable achievements in the domain of self-organized growth of nanostructures on 2D materials. Various examples and synthetic approaches for the self-organized growth of organic molecules, inorganic nanomaterials, and 2D materials, which result in the formation of different types of heterostructures, have been discussed. We especially focus on the self-aligned growth of nanostructures on 2D materials, governed by the van der Waals interaction between the grown nanostructures and 2D substrates. The assembly of various nanostructures on the 2D moiré periodic potential is also highlighted. Finally, we remark the representative applications of the self-organized growth behaviors such as advanced nanofabrication and the mapping of crystal domains of 2D materials. © 2017 Elsevier B.V.