Inorganic Graphene Analogs.

In the last four to five years, there has been a great resurgence of research on two-dimensional inorganic materials, partly because of the impetus received from graphene research. Unlike graphene, which is a gap-less material, most inorganic layered materials are semiconductors or insulators. Some of them, as exemplified by MoS₂, exhibit unexpected properties, not unlike graphene, with possible applications. Thus, layered metal chalcogenides are being explored intensely, and MoS₂ is emerging as a wonder material. In this article, we present the synthesis and properties of nanosheets composing single or few layers of these fascinating materials. Besides metal chalcogenides, boron nitride, borocarbonitrides (B _xC _yN _z), metal oxides, and metal-organic frameworks are also discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]