Challenges and Opportunities for Emerging Material Systems

In recent times, two dimensional (2D) materials have been widely explored due their extensive applications in realizing electronics, optoelectronics and energy generation/storage devices. Such materials depict improved performance with modifications in their structural orientation, with selective doping, and by formation of heterojunctions. These monolayer structures encompass transition metals and metal oxide (MO) based system. The 2D materials depict high surface to volume ratio resulting in highly sensitive electronic property making them sensitive with respect to changes in their surroundings. In the present chapter, we elucidate three important applications of these 2D materials: (i) opto-electric applications, (ii) energy storage, and (iii) electronic sensing. In this chapter, we will elucidate different novel and high performance 2D materials which are used for the aforementioned applications which includes: (i) graphene and graphene heterojunction as charge transport layer and ternary layer in solar cell and optoelectronic devices, (ii) mxene as a novel material for Li and Na ion batteries, (iii) MoS2 as sensing material for biosensors. Here, a thorough discussion on these 2D materials and the specified applications. In addition, vital advantages of these 2D materials over other conventional materials have also been discussed. This chapter will serve as a guideline for researchers and scholars to obtain an insight into 2D materials and their applications in thrust areas of sensing, energy generation and storage.