Freestanding ultrathin metallic nanosheets: Materials, synthesis, and applications

KGaA, Weinheim. Freestanding ultrathin metallic nanosheets (FUMNSs) with atomic thickness attract extensive attention because they display remarkable advantages over their bulk counterparts by virtue of their large specific area, high aspect ratio, and unsaturated surface coordination. The state of the art of research on FUMNSs is reviewed here, wherein the important progress from the aspects of material category, synthetic strategy, and practical application are introduced, and it is demonstrated that FUMNSs will play an important role in the fields of optoelectrics, catalysis, and magnetism. Free-standing ultrathin metallic nanosheets with atomic thickness are the subject of considerable attention. Many kinds of metallic nanosheets with several atomic layers can be successfully synthesized through well-controlled anisotropic growth. These ultrathin metallic nanosheets display unique physical and chemical properties, and show great potential in biochemical sensing and imaging, industrial catalysis, and magnetic recording devices.