Two-dimensional (2D) metals have drawn great attention because of their extraordinary properties, especially in applications that favor van der Waals interaction. The development of advanced characterization tools has facilitated the understanding of formation or growth mechanisms of 2D metals. In this perspective, we discuss 5 common approaches to obtaining 2D metals, including, (top down) van der Waals squeezing and selective extraction, and (bottom up) electron beam-induced growth, self-assembly, and graphene-templated wet chemistry growth. The future opportunities are proposed in the summary section. Furthermore, challenges and problems such as thermodynamic stability and scalability in 2D material growth are proposed for the community to tackle.

Chongqing Research Institute of HIT Chongqing 401135 China

Electron Beam Emergent Additive Manufacturing VSB Technical University of Ostrava 708 33 Ostrava Czech Republic

Institute for Advanced Interdisciplinary Research University of Jinan Jinan 250022 China

Institute for Materials Chemistry Leibniz Institute for Solid State and Materials Research Dresden Dresden 01069 Germany

Interfaces Confinement Matériaux et Nanostructures CNRS Orléans UMR7374 Orléans 45071 France

National Laboratory of Solid State Microstructures College of Engineering and Applied Sciences Jiangsu Key Laboratory of Artificial Functional Materials and Collaborative Innovation Center of Advanced Microstructures Nanjing University Nanjing 210023 China

Soochow Institute for Energy and Materials Innovation College of Energy Key Laboratory of Advanced Carbon Materials and Wearable Energy Technologies of Jiangsu Province Key Laboratory of Core Technology of High Specific Energy Battery and Key Materials for Petroleum and Chemical Industry Soochow University Suzhou 215006 China

State Key Laboratory of Crystal Materials Shandong University Jinan 250100 China

State Key Laboratory of Precision Welding and Joining of Materials and Structures Harbin Institute of Technology Harbin 150001 China

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