Optoelectronic Properties of Heterostructures: The Most Recent Developments Based on Graphene and Transition-Metal Dichalcogenides

The extremely high charge carrier mobility in graphene has motivated the exploration of unique properties in other two-dimensional (2-D) materials, such as hexagonal boron nitride (h-BN), phosphorene, silicine, and the transition-metal dichalcogenides (TMDs). The latter compounds have generated great interest due to their potential for optoelectronic applications, since their band gaps are tunable as a function of the number of layers, even as the compounds remain flexible and nearly translucent when composed of a few atomic layers. Although nearly all the layered 2-D materials reveal a potential for optoelectronic applications, their heterostructures show remarkable properties that may not occur in their individual constituent layers. This review article intends to highlight some of the most recent developments on the optoelectronic properties of heterostructures based on graphene and TMDs.