2D nanosheets-based novel architectures: Synthesis, assembly and applications

The discovery of graphene attracted great interest because of the potential prospects of which in both basic and applied research. And other kinds of 2D graphene analogues, including hexagonal BN, carbon nitride, transition metal dichalcogenides, etc. derived from their layered bulk crystals, have also been extensively investigated because of their promising characters and potential applications. It is expected that these 2D nanosheets, in bulk or in composite materials, could maintain their extraordinary properties. However, the irreversible aggregation or accumulating of 2D nanosheets due to the strong van der Waals interactions, extremely decrease their accessible surface area. More recently, with the recognization of the tremendous interest of these 2D structures, scientists noticed that the performance of certain devices could be significantly improved by utilizing 3D architectures and/or aerogels due to the increase of unit activity of the materials. This review summarizes different synthetic process (such as assembly, chemical vapor deposition direct synthesis, in-situ confinement growth and so on) used for preparation of 2D graphene analogues based 3D architectures and/or aerogels containing either any or their composites. And the different fields of application for energy storage (including both supercapacitor and lithium ion battery applications), electrocatalysis, sensing and others are provided a significant enhancement in the efficacy as compared to their 2D analogues or even opened the path to novel application. In addition, some perspectives on the challenges and opportunities in this promising research area are also discussed. (C) 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.